Ten Indians kidnapped in Nigeria freed

NEW DELHI: Ten Indians abducted in Nigeria 16 days ago have been released.

All of them, who worked with a franchise of Indonesia-based Indorama firm, are with company officials, Ministry of External Affairs sources here said on Saturday.

The ten, including Indorama's Managing Director Arun Taneja, were kidnapped by some gunmen after an attack on their residential quarters in Rivers state on June one.

While the Indian High Commission had taken up the matter with Nigerian officials, the negotiations for their release were conducted by the company officials.

Indorama had sent a Director-level officer to Nigeria to negotiate with the kidnappers.

In the wake of the daring abduction, many other Indians had been evacuated from the state to the Nigerian capital Lagos.

The High Commission had taken up the matter of Indians' security with Nigerian Foreign Ministry and National Security Adviser while the External Affairs Ministry took up the issue with the Nigerian High Commission.

Two Indians and three foreign workers were abducted in a similar incident last night from Nigeria's southern oil heartland.

About 10 days earlier, two other Indians had been abducted and they too had been freed earlier this week.