Eight foreign oil workers, two Britons among them, were freed on Sunday after being abducted by an armed group in Nigeria. Media reports quoted a spokesperson for the Nigerian police as saying that all hostages, six Britons, one American and one Canadian, were freed after successful negotiations with the kidnappers. Media reports noted that hostages were released early Sunday morning and were transported to the Nigerian capital city, Abuja.The employees, working for Dolphin Drilling Ltd company, based in Scotland, were abducted on Friday from an offshore oil rig south of Nigeria. According to a Dolphin Drilling spokesperson, about 84 workers were on the rig when it came under attack by an armed group, noting that the group was seeking negotiations with oil companies contracting with the Scottish company. The spokesperson did not state whether a ransom was paid to release the employees and did not release the name of the armed group, while media reports expressed belief that no political reasons were behind the abduction, but financial ones.
Similar abduction incidents occurred in the same area before, as four foreign workers, one Briton among them, were abducted of an oil harbor finger pier on January 11 by an armed group, which held them hostage for 19 days.