Two Chinese Nationals Abducted At Construction Site In Ebonyi By Masked Gunmen

saharareporters

According to Loveth Odah, spokesperson of the Police in Ebonyi, the victims are Messrs Sun Zhi Xim and Wang Qinghu, employees of Tonyi Chinese Group of Companies.

Gunmen have abducted two Chinese nationals from a construction site in southeast Nigeria, the Police have said.

According to Loveth Odah, spokesperson of the Police in Ebonyi, the victims are Messrs Sun Zhi Xim and Wang Qinghu, employees of Tonyi Chinese Group of Companies. Odah said the armed men, who concealed their identities by wearing masks, abducted the chinese workers in Ohaozara in Ebonyi State on Thursday.

“The victims were kidnapped at about 3:30 pm on April 24 and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ohaozara informed the state Commissioner of Police (CP) of the abduction from the construction site," she said.

“They were abducted by a gang of masked armed men and the CP led a team comprising of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) and other tactical personnel. We went to the scene and discovered that it was a vulnerable construction site, located inside a thick forest without any form of security; whether police or local vigilante.

“This forest is situated near Ivo River at a boundary between Enugu and Ebonyi, and we thoroughly combed the area to trace the kidnappers and possibly rescue the victims. We recorded no results, but our tactical team has been reinforced in the area to track the kidnappers.

Odah urged the public to give the Police any information that could lead to the rescue of the kidnapped Chinese unharmed. Though she made no comment on the motivation for the attack, kidnapping for ransom is known to be prevalent in Nigeria. Just on Wednesday, four emergency workers were abducted while returning from an assignment in oil-rich Rivers state.

Family sources later confirmed that the  kidnappers had asked for N40million to secure the freedom of the four workers. Many Chinese companies are engaged in multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects, including railways, airports and roads in Nigeria and their workers have often been targeted by kidnap gangs.