Two policemen killed in apparent failed kidnap bid in Niger Delta

Apr 27, 2007, 12:23 GMT

Abuja - Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two riot policemen during an apparent failed kidnapping attempt in the Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt on Friday, police said.

Details of the incident were sketchy, but the victims were known to have been on escort duty, protecting expatriate workers travelling to their office, Police Commissioner for Rivers State Felix Ogbaudu told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

Foreign workers, at constant risk of being kidnapped in the oil- rich but impoverished Niger Delta, rely heavily on police escorts when moving around.

Ogbaudu said the gunmen, dressed in army camouflage, opened fire on the convoy, killing the police officers instantly.

'It was an unfortunate incident and callous for people to kill fellow human beings without a thought about the consequences or effect it would have on the society or families of the victims,' he said.

Police command had launched a serious manhunt for the killers and was still awaiting details of the incident from the company, which he did not name.

The incident brings to 10 the number of policemen killed in attacks by militants, political violence and robbery in Rivers State in the last two weeks.

Militants demanding change have been targeting expatriate oil workers and oil production facilities in the Niger Delta.

They have demanded employment, the provision of social infrastructure, a greater say in the affairs of oil exports from the region as well as remediation of the environment that has been negatively affected by oil production activities.

Oil from the Niger Delta provides more than 90 per cent of Nigeria's overall revenue.

Militant groups have abducted more than 70 expatriate oil workers so far this year.