Suspected Niger Delta Militants Abduct 3 Dutch Nationals

Three Dutch nationals were kidnapped, while two Nigerians accompanying the foreigners went missing in Letugbene, a boundary town between Delta and Bayelsa states, on May 4, 2014, Sunday. According to local sources, Niger Delta militants may be behind this crime.

The incident happened around 4.30pm when two men and a woman left the palace of HRM King Joel Ibane (Ogiobo IX), the traditional ruler of Iduwuni Kingdom.

* Kidnapped foreigners
The group of foreigners have visited the area with a humanitarian mission.
The gunmen have reportedly appeared in a Passport 19 speed boat at the community jetty, shooting sporadically with their Kalashnikov (AK-47) rifles. They robbed the foreigners and the witnesses of their belongings which included laptops, iPads, phones, cameras and etc., before abducting the trio.

“Some persons in the second boat, including community leaders from Dodo River, jumped into the river following the heavy shooting. We learnt some of them are missing including the Dutch based-Nigerians who came with the foreigners,” a journalist, who survived the attack, narrated.

One of the kidnapped Dutch Nationals with Amatu11 community women before the unfortunate incident pic.twitter.com/Yrm8gyMiSz
— Onojeghen Theophilus (@checktheolife) May 5, 2014

Kidnapped Dutch Nationals and two Nigerians with the traditional ruler of Iduwini kingdom by Niger Delta militants pic.twitter.com/lTh4Yu0czx
— Onojeghen Theophilus (@checktheolife) May 5, 2014

It would be noted that the risk of being kidnapped during a visit to Goodluck Jonathan’s home-state is one of the highest in Nigeria.