Police Command in Ebonyi has confirmed the abduction of two Chinese expatriates working in a mining site in Ihietutu, Ishiagu in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi by unknown gunmen.
The abducted Chinese nationals are employees at Greenfield Metals Nigeria Limited which specialises in lead and zinc mining.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Loveth Odah, confirmed the abduction in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abakaliki.
She said that the victims were reportedly abducted on Wednesday, June 3 at the mining site.
She, however, explained that the police were yet to establish the motive behind the abduction, adding that preliminary investigation had commenced.
She said, “We got the information yesterday, a detachment of our tactical team was despatched to the area with a view to unraveling the true situation and also to rescue the victims.
“The team is yet to return to furnish us with relevant information about the incident.
“But, I can confirm to you that we received a distress call from the area yesterday (Wednesday) informing the police of alleged abduction of two Chinese working in a mining site at Ihietutu in Ishiagu community.
“We are waiting for information from our men before we can make informed comments on the motive behind the alleged abduction.
“For now, we cannot say if the abduction was for ransom purposes or not because the abductors are yet to establish contacts with the company.”
NAN reports that kidnappers in March invaded the company’s Life-Camp at ‘Ugwuajirija’ and kidnapped two Chinese nationals, who later regained their freedom after an undisclosed amount of money was paid as ransom. (NAN)
