Foreign workers freed in Nigeria

BEIJING – Five Chinese telecommunications workers kidnapped nearly two weeks ago in Nigeria have been freed by their captors, China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The workers were released Wednesday night in Nigeria, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference. “We want to express our thanks and support for the assistance on the Nigerian side,” Liu said.Asked if a ransom had been paid to ensure the workers’ release, Liu answered: “I’m sorry.I can’t give any details on the specific process.”In Nigeria, Emeke Woke, a government official in Rivers state where the kidnappings occurred, said the Chinese were handed over to their company’s lawyers in the state on Thursday.In a brief statement on its Web site, the Foreign Ministry said its diplomats and officials from China’s Commerce Ministry had worked with the Nigerian government to secure the workers’ release.”All have been safely rescued,” the statement said without providing details on how they were released.Teleken, based in the southwestern city of Chengdu, had been contracted to install equipment to upgrade rural telephone service in Nigeria.The company is a subsidiary of China Telecom Corporation, the country’s biggest telephone company.Since the kidnapping, Teleken workers have been withdrawn from two other locations in Rivers state, the People’s Daily newspaper reported.The government’s Xinhua News Agency reported separately that all five workers were in good health and were expected to arrive in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, yesterday.As Chinese travel abroad in ever-greater numbers, they have increasingly fallen victim to crime, kidnappings and murder, particularly in dangerous and unstable parts of Africa and Asia where Chinese companies have sought contracts.China’s government is under intense pressure at home to protect the lives and interests of its citizens abroad, prompting a speedy official response whenever such incidents occur.Foreign workers, especially in the oil industry, have become targets of armed militants seeking a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth.The Chinese workers were kidnapped January 5 from their residence in a village outside Port Harcourt in the oil-rich Niger Delta, Xinhua said.Nampa-AP”We want to express our thanks and support for the assistance on the Nigerian side,” Liu said.Asked if a ransom had been paid to ensure the workers’ release, Liu answered: “I’m sorry.I can’t give any details on the specific process.”In Nigeria, Emeke Woke, a government official in Rivers state where the kidnappings occurred, said the Chinese were handed over to their company’s lawyers in the state on Thursday.In a brief statement on its Web site, the Foreign Ministry said its diplomats and officials from China’s Commerce Ministry had worked with the Nigerian government to secure the workers’ release.”All have been safely rescued,” the statement said without providing details on how they were released.Teleken, based in the southwestern city of Chengdu, had been contracted to install equipment to upgrade rural telephone service in Nigeria.The company is a subsidiary of China Telecom Corporation, the country’s biggest telephone company.Since the kidnapping, Teleken workers have been withdrawn from two other locations in Rivers state, the People’s Daily newspaper reported.The government’s Xinhua News Agency reported separately that all five workers were in good health and were expected to arrive in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, yesterday.As Chinese travel abroad in ever-greater numbers, they have increasingly fallen victim to crime, kidnappings and murder, particularly in dangerous and unstable parts of Africa and Asia where Chinese companies have sought contracts.China’s government is under intense pressure at home to protect the lives and interests of its citizens abroad, prompting a speedy official response whenever such incidents occur.Foreign workers, especially in the oil industry, have become targets of armed militants seeking a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth.The Chinese workers were kidnapped January 5 from their residence in a village outside Port Harcourt in the oil-rich Niger Delta, Xinhua said.Nampa-AP