A British national married to a Nigerian lady has been kidnapped in Nigeria’s main oil city of Port Harcourt, the Joint (military) Task Force deployed to the Niger Delta oil region said Tuesday. The man, identified simply as Mr. Wilcot, a successful private businessman, by the JTF, was abducted by unknown gunmen at the Eleme area of the Rivers state capital Monday night. JTF said no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The government has blamed the rising spate of kidnappings in the oil region on criminal groups seeking to extort money from wealthy individuals, companies and the government. Hostages are usually released unharmed, some after the payment of ransom which is rarely publicised. The situation in the volatile region has become quite tense after the main militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared an ‘oil war’ last Saturday, in response to a military offensive launched against its camps. The government has scoffed at the threat by the group to cripple Nigeria’s oil production, even though its (MEND’s) attacks have caused a 20 per cent reduction in the country’s oil production.
