Gunmen Kidnap Three Australians Among Mine Workers In Nigeria

KidnapperMEP: Unknown gunmen have kidnapped at least three Australians and one New Zealander among a group of mine workers during a deadly attack in southern Nigeria.

The abduction took place in the Akpabuyo district near the capital of Cross River state, Calabar, at about 7am on Wednesday, Nigerian police said on Thursday.

Media reports say the gunmen attacked a convoy of cars killed the driver and seven employees of engineering firm Macmahon were taken away on a waiting boat.

Kidnap-for-ransom is a longstanding issue in southern Nigeria, where gangs target expatriate workers.

There are conflicting reports on the nationalities of the three other victims, but police said at least two of them were Nigerians.

Meanwhile, Irene Ugbo, a spokeswoman for Cross River State police, said that two of the non-expatriate abductees have managed to flee, without giving more details.

Meanwhile, the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, confirmed the men, who are believed to have been working for Perth-based mining company Macmahon Holdings, had been captured near Calabar in Nigeria’s south.

The families of those taken have been notified and the Australian high commissioner is at the scene, he said.

“We don’t know at this stage the identity of the kidnappers,” Turnbull told reporters while campaigning in Geelong.

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