Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped two workers of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and two other persons along the creeks of Azuzuama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the victims were in the area last weekend to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV), usually done by stakeholders after an oil spill, when the gunmen swooped on them.

The armed kidnappers were said to have stopped the officials, seized four of them and took them to an unknown place.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said the victims included an employee of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and two from Agip (HSE Department).
He said the abducted victims were taken to an unknown destination adding that the assailants later contacted Agip to negotiate their ransom and release.

Following the development, the source said the oil company sent a letter to the Director, Petroleum and Pollution Department in the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment.

But Agip and the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment could not be reached for their reactions.

It was however gathered that armed soldiers were deployed in the area to locate the whereabouts of the victims.

When contacted, the Spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe (ODS), Maj. Ibrahim Abdullahi, said he was not aware of the abduction.

He said:”There is no information like that at my disposal. However, I’ll check further and let you know if there’s anything like that.”

•Sourced from The Nation report

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