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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Fifteen schoolchildren taken in Nigeria |
| 2010-09-29 |
| [Iran Press TV] Gunmen have kidnapped more than a dozen schoolchildren after hijacking their bus, raising concerns over a surge in abductions in Nigeria's restive southern delta. Abia State police front man Geoffrey Ogbonna told AP on Tuesday that the gunnies stopped the school bus Monday morning as it headed toward a private school, Abayi International. According to the front man, gunnies freed the bus driver and a teacher but are holing 15 children and have made a ransom demand of more than USD 130,000. Abia State is located in the southeast of Africa's most populous nation, near the Niger Delta. Armed rebels in the oil-rich region say they are fighting the government for a larger share in oil revenues to curb growing poverty. The rebels kidnapping for ransom usually target foreigners or members of wealthy families, which has prompted oil firms to raise their level of security. This has turned the attention of the gangs to middle-class Nigerian families. Pirates operating off the delta's coast are currently holding hostage three French oil workers and one Thai national. |
| Posted by:Fred |