Three reporters kidnapped in Nigeria

A South African sports journalist and two Nigerian colleagues have been kidnapped by gunmen who held up their bus in southeastern Nigeria.                                           

Television company M-Net said they were seized on Monday near the town of Owerri in Imo State, which lies on the edge of the restive Niger Delta oil region.                                           

It said a Nigerian cameraman had been shot in the leg by the attackers and was now in hospital.                                           

"M-Net states that its only concern at this stage is the wellbeing of its staff members," the South African company said in a statement released in Johannesburg. It did not say whether the kidnappers had made any demands.                                           

Nigerian police confirmed the incident, but gave no further details.                                           

Foreigners, usually working for oil firms, often have been kidnapped for ransom in the Niger Delta. Wealthy Nigerians also are targets for the kidnappers.                                           

Thousands of gunmen put down their weapons last year as part of a presidential amnesty aimed at oil militants, but critics say common criminals were among those pardoned and that crime will rise as former rebels seek other sources of income.