Gunmen seize Nigerian MP's mother
Unknown gunmen have kidnapped the mother of a local MP in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, authorities say. The woman was abducted on Monday night from her home in Brass, a coastal village in Bayelsa, one of Nigeria's main oil-producing states.
Meanwhile, the 11-year-old son of another member Bayelsa State House of Assembly has been freed.
In the main Delta city, Port Harcourt, police have arrested a local politician following deadly gang clashes. Posters of Amakiri Otelemagba were found in a car allegedly used by gunmen in last week's clashes, in which at least 15 people were killed - mostly bystanders.
The city is now calm but BBC Nigeria correspondent Alex Last says given the scale and spread of the fighting, there is a suspicion that powerful political figures may also have been involved in the violence. He says that in the past, the gangs have been used to rig elections.
Posted by: lotp 2007-08-15 |