Gunmen in southern Nigeria have kidnapped four foreigners and two Nigerians employed by South Korean construction firm Hyundai Heavy Industries Limited, Police said in the State capital Yenagoa.

Yenagoa / NationalTurk – Police official Fidelis Odunna told local reporters that the incident took place in a forest on the Atlantic coast of the oil-rich Bayelsa state.

“The police are going to beef up security around all companies that have expatriates working around, we need to protect them so that they will not fear or panic”, Mr. Odunna said.

Kidnapping in this state is very common since it is the main place where oil is produced in Nigeria and activities like this are not surprising to many analysts.

Bayelsa has one of the largest crude oil and natural gas deposits in Nigeria and people always struggle to find dubious ways of taking advantage despite the effort of the security.

Mr. Odunna however did not specify the nationality of those kidnapped but many believe that the four foreigners are South Korean citizens working with the firm but there has no been official complain from the firm or the Embassy of South Korea in Nigeria.

Mr. Tare Kolugha a fisherman who was fishing at the time of the kidnapping claimed he saw them being kidnapped from their boat when they were crossing the water to the other side.

“We were on the waters fishing close to Odioma Creek when we noticed two boats with armed men who shot into the air and stopped the passenger boat conveying the Hyundai workers to their yard,” Mr.Kolugha told reporters.

Kidnapping common in Nigeria’s southern state

The Southern state is where Nigeria’s oil is produced and unscrupulous people take advantage of the situation to kidnap oil workers and other foreign nationals working because companies will pay high ransom money to secure their employees’ release.

Earlier this month, the mother of Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was snatched from her home in the Delta state.

She was however freed on Friday after gunmen held her for almost 5 days subjected to mal treatment.

The minister later told the press that the kidnappers had demanded her resignation from the finance ministry as a result of her effort in fighting corruption.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

[adrotate group=”15″]