Nigerian security forces
have killed 13 members of a gang suspected of abducting a
Turkish man in a dawn raid on their hideout in oil-producing
Rivers state, police said on Saturday.
A 20 million naira ($127,600) ransom was paid for the
release of Bayram Karakus, who worked for the Rivigo
Construction company, Rivers police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam
told Reuters.
He gave no details of what happened to the Turkish man. A combined team of operatives ... stormed the militant camp
of a notorious gang also responsible for kidnapping, armed
robbery, killing of policemen and civilians in the recent past,"
Ugwuegbulam said.In the ensuing gun battle six of the hoodlums were fatally
wounded ... seven of the wounded died on the way to hospital.
Ugwuegbulam said the police recovered 98,900 naira, the bags
used to deliver the ransom, six AK 47 rifles and ammunition in
the raid on Friday.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in the coastal Niger Delta
region, which is home to Africa's largest oil industry. The
majority of people abducted are Nigerians but foreign oil and
construction workers are also targets.
Nigeria is one of the worst countries in the world for
kidnapping, a major criminal enterprise worth millions of
dollars a year. Abductions are most common in the oil-region and
other southern states, including the commercial-hub Lagos.Piracy off the coast is also on the increase.
Pirates released seven sailors last week - six Russians and
an Estonian - seized after an attack on a ship operated by
French firm Bourbon SA off the coast of Nigeria.