Armed men have kidnapped at least 18 people in three separate attacks in Nigeria, officials say.

 

Chief Joshua Benemesia, head of a volunteer anti-piracy force, said that in one attack at least five foreign workers were kidnapped on Thursday from an oil vessel about 40km off Port Harcourt, Nigeria's southern oil hub.

Afterwards, a statement issued by Eni SpA, the Italian energy group, said that unidentified assailants kidnapped several of its employees who were working on the vessel, the Mystras.

In Thursday's second incident, 11 foreign workers and one Nigerian were kidnapped from a South Korean company's power-plant construction site.

 

A statement from Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co said an armed group broke into the company's facilities and drove the workers away in a stolen vehicle at 2am local time (01:00 GMT) from Afam power station, about 30km northeast of Port Harcourt.

 

 

The foreigners included eight Filipinos and three South Koreans, the company statement said.

Gunfire was heard during the 30-minute assault, a Daewoo official said.

 

He said that no information was available on the plight of the workers and the kidnappers had not yet presented any demands.

 

A total of 1,755 workers, including 148 Koreans, were at the site, which has been guarded by Nigerian soldiers and security officials, Huh Hyon, a Daewoo spokesman, said.

 

The kidnapped Koreans include Chung Tae-young, a 52-year-old  Daewoo managing director who was on a business trip to the area, and two senior Daewoo officials in Nigeria, he said.

 

Felix Ogbaudu, the Rivers state police commissioner, said a policeman was injured during the kidnapping.

 

Soldiers and police were searching for the attackers, officials said.

 

 

In the third incident, a Dutch man was kidnapped overnight from a bar in Warri, in southern Nigeria, a witness said on Thursday.

 

Flora Achudumoe, who owns Flora's bar near an oil company compound in the city centre, said the man was an unemployed oil worker and was taken by a group while he was watching football on Wednesday night.

 

Attacks and kidnappings of this kind are common in Africa's largest oil producer, where anti-government fighters and criminals use them as leverage against the government or to extract payment.

 

Thursday's kidnappings bring the total number of foreigners kidnapped in the oil region surrounding the Niger river delta so far this year to at least 92.