Bandits have abducted a Swiss national, Andred Beita, and his driver, simply identified as Ifeanyi, in Ogun state.
The Ogun state police command confirmed the incident, stating that it occurred along the Ibese-Itori Road on Saturday.
The spokesman for the command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, explained that the victims were waylaid by bandits as they were coming from a farm in the area.
“They were intercepted… Two of the bandits were killed, but they succeeded in abducting two – a Swiss national and another person,” he said. “The police are on the trail of these people.”
The assailants were said to have exchanged gunfire with a team of policemen attached to a farm in the area before the abduction.
In the process, two civilians were injured and rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Switzerland authorities also confirmed the incident in a statement by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on Monday.
“The FDFA and the Swiss embassy in Abuja are in contact with the local authorities,” they said. “The FDFA is coordinating activities with the various departments of the federal administration relevant to this type of case.
“For reasons of personal and data protection, the FDFA cannot provide further information.”
“The FDFA’s travel advice for Nigeria draws attention to the risk of politically or criminally motivated kidnappings across the country,” the FDFA’s statement said.
The increased rate of kidnappings across the country is worrisome.
Chronicle NG reported two consecutive high profile abductions that occurred in Niger state within 24 hours. They include the APC chieftain who was abducted on his farm and the Niger state commissioner for Information and Strategy who was kidnapped from his residence.
The victims were still in captivity as at the time of filing this report.
