A British national who was kidnapped in Nigeria’s main oil city of Port Harcourt last month has been released unharmed by his captors, according to the military task force deployed to the restive Niger Delta oil region. Spokesman for the task force, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, said that Mr. David Melford, who was abducted by unknown gunmen at the Eleme area of the Rivers state capital two weeks ago, was set free at 0400hrs Saturday. Musa said no ransom was paid for the release of Melford, who is married to a Nigerian. At the time of his abduction, Melford, who had been incorrectly identified as Mr. Wilcot by the task force, was described as a successful private businessman. In a related development, Musa said Mrs Paula Magani, wife of a staff of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas company, has been released by her captors. Mrs. Magani, who was abducted in Port Harcourt on Monday, was set free at 0200hrs Saturday. Musa said no ransom was paid to secure her release.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a frequent occurrence in the Niger Delta, but almost all those who had been kidnapped had been freed unharmed.
