Lagos - Unidentified gunmen in southern Nigeria held hostage a local employee of Royal Dutch Shell for several hours at the weekend before he was rescued, army and police sources said on Monday.
Fidelis Akpoghira was seized whilst visiting relatives on Sunday in a district of Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub, a local military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir said.
Sagir said the gunmen were militants and had demanded seven million naira (US$59 000) for the release of Akpoghira before driving away with him.
Rivers State police spokesperson Rita Abbey said the Shell employee was freed on Sunday night by police officers who tracked the kidnappers.
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Since January 2006, militant attacks have cut Nigeria's oil output by more than one quarter.
Nigeria's total production currently stands at around two million barrels a day against 2.6 million barrels in 2006.
Nigeria was Africa's largest oil producer before it was overtaken in April by Angola, according to Opec figures. - AFP
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