Nigeria: 2 Americans, 2 Canadians Freed by Abductors

Nigerian police in Borno state pose prior to a patrol in Maiduguri on June 5, 2013 (AFP Photo/Quentin Leboucher)
Nigerian police in Borno state pose prior to a patrol in Maiduguri on June 5, 2013 (AFP Photo/Quentin Leboucher)
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Nigeria: 2 Americans, 2 Canadians Freed by Abductors

Nigerian police in Borno state pose prior to a patrol in Maiduguri on June 5, 2013 (AFP Photo/Quentin Leboucher)
Nigerian police in Borno state pose prior to a patrol in Maiduguri on June 5, 2013 (AFP Photo/Quentin Leboucher)

Two Americans and two Canadians have been freed after being kidnapped in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

The Westerners were ambushed by unknown gunmen on Wednesday while traveling from the town of Kafanchan in Kaduna state to the capital, Abuja. Kafanchan is more than three hours' drive northeast of Abuja.

Mukhtar Aliyu, a spokesman for Kaduna state police, said they were freed on Friday.

"It was the efforts of the police, through the directive of the inspector general of police, that yielded their release last night," he said. Aliyu said no ransom was paid.

The road connecting Abuja and Kaduna has long been targeted by abductors.

Kidnapping, usually for ransom, is common in parts of Nigeria, though abductors usually target other Nigerians.

However, the kidnapping of foreigners is not uncommon.

Police told AFP on Friday that five oil workers have been kidnapped in Nigeria's restive southern Niger Delta region.

Suspected militants seized the workers on Wednesday near the Ajoki community, which borders Edo and Delta States, said Delta State police spokesperson Andrew Aniamaka.

The workers are employees of Sahara Energy Oil Company, a Nigerian energy firm.

The incident happened a few hours after the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a rebel group known to attack oil pipelines, issued a statement warning the government it was ending a 2017 ceasefire agreement.



Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
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Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)

Traffic on France's TGV high-speed trains was gradually returning to normal on Saturday after engineers worked overnight repairing sabotaged signal stations and cables that caused travel chaos on Friday, the opening day of the Paris Olympic Games.

In Friday's pre-dawn attacks on the high-speed rail network vandals damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled, French rail operator SNCF said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

"On the Eastern high-speed line, traffic resumed normally this morning at 6:30 a.m. while on the North, Brittany and South-West high-speed lines, 7 out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of 1 to 2 hours," SNCF said in a statement on Saturday morning.

"At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns," it added.

SNCF reiterated that transport plans for teams competing in the Olympics would be guaranteed.