At least five expatriates and two Nigerians were
on Wednesday kidnapped at the Idundu area of the Calabar-Oban Road by suspected
militants.
The incident happened at about 6am when the
foreigners and their Nigerian colleagues, working for MacMahon Construction
Company, were on their way to work.
The construction firm is located at the Mfamosing
Plant of the United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited in the Akamkpa Local
Government Area of Cross River State.
The company is said to be one of the major contracting firms to Lafarge Holcim,
owners of UniCem.
The workers, who were conveyed in four MacMahon
vehicles, had been escorted by a security pickup that had four armed policemen
when they were attacked by the gunmen before the Idundu Bridge.
The armed police escort team could do nothing
while the attack lasted.
One of the expatriates identified as Tim Croot,
an Australian and the driver of one of the vehicles, identified as Henshaw,
were said to have escaped, while another driver, Matthew, was killed in the
process.
It was learnt from a reliable source
that those kidnapped were Jack Countentz (Australia); Mark Gabberdy
(Australia); Peter Zoutenbier (Australia), Wayne Smith (South Africa), Jamal
Khan (New Zealand), Austin Enok (Nigeria) and a driver identified as Howel
(Nigeria).
An eyewitness, Akan Akpan, said the kidnappers
came down from the bridge where they had kept their boat’s engine running for
almost an hour before taking the expatriates and the Nigerians away.
He said, “I was coming back from the farm this
morning when the incident occurred. The kidnappers came down from the bridge,
shot the driver of the vehicle and took the victims away through the river.
“The vehicles conveying the expatriates and the
two Nigerians were abandoned by the roadside with the dead body of the driver.
From all indications, it appeared like the expatriates were going to work at
the Lafarge Holcim plant in Mfamosing.”
A statement issued by the Communications Officer
of Lafarge, Viola Graham-Douglas, confirmed that the kidnapped expatriates were
MacMahon contractors.
In a short message, Graham-Douglas said, “One of
our contractors, MacMahon, has informed us that a security incident has
occurred on the road from Calabar involving some of their employees. MacMahon
is working with the security agencies to resolve the situation.”
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, has said the police are working with the Nigerian Navy to
ensure that the victims are released safely.
“The police are aware of the matter. Five persons
were kidnapped. They include two Australians, one South African and two Nigerians.
The driver of the vehicle was shot dead. The police will ensure that the
victims are released unharmed,” he assured.
No comments:
Post a Comment