Gunmen kidnapped three oil workers from Canada, Scotland and Nigeria at a rig in Nigeria’s Delta region on Saturday, officials said – the second abduction in the area in less than a week.

The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources in Ogbele, Rivers State at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the spokesman for the area’s military operations, Major Ibrahim Abubakar, said. .

Troops were searching surrounding swamps, he added.

The Niger Delta produces the bulk of Nigeria’s crude. It has been plagued by criminal gangs and by armed groups demanding a greater share of oil revenues.

On Thursday, two Royal Dutch Shell oil workers were kidnapped and their police escorts killed in Rivers State while returning from a trip.

REUTERS