Three Nigerians arrested in Angola for kidnapping

Three Nigerians have been arrested in Angola for kidnapping a Chinese national

Angolan authorities in Huíla Province in the southwest have arrested three Nigerian nationals allegedly for kidnapping a Chinese, local media confirmed.

According to Jornal de Angola, the Nigerians had also robbed the Chinese of $11,700 (Kwanzas 12m) over ransom demand.

The paper said the Nigerians used guns to execute their crime.

The Chinese national, a 53-year-old bricklayer, was reportedly kidnapped at Arimba community and held for 72 hours by the criminals.

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He was freed after a ransom was paid, Jornal de Angola reported.

It added that the three Nigerian nationals were later arrested in the capital Luanda.

“They are living legally in Angola,” the Huíla Province Criminal Investigation Services head, Mr Alberto Sawana, was quoted as saying.

Huíla Province, about 904km south of Luanda, is the second most populous region after the capital.

The province is rich in mineral resources, that tend to attract people from far and wide.

The minerals found in Huíla Province include iron, gold, kaolin, diamonds, manganese, mica, black granite and mineral water.

The 2014 census puts the population of Angola at 25,789,024.

Angola is the seventh-largest country in Africa and is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to west.

The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.