Gunmen Tuesday kidnapped two children of a businessman based in Nigeria’s oil city of Port Harcourt as they were bring driven to school, a police source said the toddlers were identified as Chimaroke Okocha, aged two years plus, and Kelechi Okocha, 1-1/2 years. No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnap, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the oil region. Over 340 people, including 11 children and five women, were kidnapped in the oil region in the past year, but almost all of them were released unharmed, some after the payment of ransom which is, however, rarely admitted. The government blames the rising cases of abduction on criminal groups seeking to extort money from individuals, companies as well as governments. Militant groups seeking a better deal for the oil producing region started the kidnapping of foreign oil workers to call attention to their campaign. Panapress
