An unnamed British national was kidnapped
shortly after landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos
on Tuesday, the British High Commission has revealed.
Gunmen targeted a four-wheel
drive car at around 8.30pm after it left the airport’s international
terminal, seizing the British man who was returning to a residential
area of Lagos, according to security sources.
The Nigerian driver of the vehicle was shot but survived.
A statement on Friday, the British High Commission (BHM) said: “The BHM
is working closely with others to secure the release of the hostage.
“Because of the nature of this incident, the BHM is not going into further detail about it.”
Efforts to get the local police to comment proved abortive.
There was no indication if the victim was employed with any of the
major companies with British connections operating in Nigeria like Royal
Dutch Shell, British Airways, Unilever and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Kidnapping of expatriates by armed gangs seeking ransom has been rife in
Nigeria’s oil producing southeast, but is not common in Lagos were most
foreigners live.
A British businessman was, however, kidnapped in
March in an up market district of Nigeria’s commercial capital but was
released four days later. It was not clear if a ransom was paid.
Risk analysts Drum Cussac have reported a “noticeable upsurge” in the
number of kidnappings in the southwest of the country, including Lagos.
The consultancy said: “Foreign nationals were targeted in the affluent
Lagos areas of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Epe-Lekki, sparking
speculation that organised criminal gangs have renewed their focus on
the city’s upscale districts given their relatively permissive security
environments.”
Among Nigerians that have been kidnapped in Lagos
recently is abducted a staff of Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited, Mrs.
Chinyere Nwajei, who was abducted in Festac Town area on her way back
from work on Tuesday, July 9.
Her abductors later made contact with her family, demanding N25million.
Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Authority (LCDA), Kehinde
Oladapo Bamigbetan, was also abducted in Ejigbo, also in Lagos on
Monday, April 15.
The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N155million before his release.
Bamigbetan, a former Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Bola
Tinubu of Lagos, was released a few days later and the police claim to
have killed seven and arrested two of the kidnappers.
Source: Daily Independent
