The two children of the same parents who were kidnapped in Port Harcourt, capital of Nigeria’s oil state of Rivers 4 March, have been freed unharmed, the police said Monday.
Police Spokesperson Ireju Barasua said the children were freed on Sunday. but did not say whether or not any ransom was paid for their release.
The children, whose father, Epharaim Nwuzi, was a former Chairman of the Etche local council of the state, were abducted by unknown gunmen as they were being driven to school in the restive oil region.
No group claimed responsibility for their abduction, one of several cases targeting children and parents of politicians and the affluent.
A six-year-old child who was kidnapped on her way to school in the city 10 March was freed three days later.
The government blames the rising cases of kidnapping on criminal groups seeking to extort money in form of ransom, rather than the militants fighting for a better deal for the impoverished oil producing communities.
According to a local NGO, over 350 people, including about dozen children, were kidnapped in the region last year alone. Panapress.
