A BRITISH national has been kidnapped shortly after landing at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport
in Nigeria, the British High Commission in has revealed.
Gunmen targeted a four-wheel drive car at around 8.30pm on Tuesday after it left the airport’s international terminal, seizing the British man who was returning to a residential area of Lagos, according to security sources.
The Nigerian driver of the vehicle was shot but survived.
“The BHM is working closely with others to secure the release of the hostage,” the British High Commission said in a statement, adding that it is unable to give further details about it “because of the nature of (the) incident.”
Major companies with British connections operating in Nigeria include oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, British Airways, Unilever and PricewaterhouseCoopers. There was no indication of where the kidnapped man was employed.
Kidnapping of expatriates and Nigerians by armed gangs seeking ransom has been rife in Nigeria’s oil producing southeast, but is rarer in Lagos were most foreigners live.
Four Chinese nationals and the three-year-old son of a state legislator have previously been reported kidnapped this month.
Risk analysts Drum Cussac have reported a “noticeable upsurge” in the number of kidnappings in the southwest of the country, including Lagos.
The consultancy said: “Foreign nationals were targeted in the affluent Lagos areas of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Epe-Lekki, sparking speculation that organised criminal gangs have renewed their focus on the city’s upscale districts given their relatively permissive security environments.”