10 Indian hostages released in Nigeria

LAGOS: Ten Indian citizens kidnapped early this month in volatile southern Nigeria have been released, industry sources said Saturday.

Two women and two children, who are not normally targeted by kidnappers in the Niger Delta, are among the 10.

"They were freed last night (Friday)," one industry source told AFP, adding he had no details of the circumstances of their release.

Neither the company that employs some of the hostages, Eleme Petrochemical, nor local police were able to confirm they had been freed.

But the chief of police in the southern Rivers State, Felix Ogbaudu, said there were indications Friday that the 10 were going to be released shortly.

Eleme Petrochemical, bought recently by Indorama, was targeted twice by kidnappers in rapid succession.

On May 19 two Indian men were abducted from the company's premises in an incident that left one civilian killed and another injured. The two were among 12 foreigners released en masse by an armed group a few days ago.

Then on June 1 three senior managers, three workers and four family members -- two women and two children -- were seized from the company's residential compound.

The two attacks, which caused the Indian foreign ministry to issue a warning against upcountry travel in Nigeria, triggered an exodus of some 120 Eleme expatriate staff -- mostly engineers and technicians -- from Nigeria in early June. Most of them returned to their native India.

This exodus of skilled workers obliged the company to partially shut down production.