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.



China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the US intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race.

The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the country.

China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and dialogue and consultation are the right way, Wang told the Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday during a meeting in Vientiane, the capital of Laos where top diplomats of world powers have gathered ahead of two summits.

Wang said relations between the countries are facing challenges because the Philippines has "repeatedly violated the consensus of both sides and its own commitments", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," Wang said.

The Philippines' military and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wang's remarks.

China and the Philippines are locked in a confrontation in the South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to disputed shoals in waters within Manila's its exclusive economic zone.

Wang said China has recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren'ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation, referring to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine vessels on Saturday successfully completed their latest mission to the shoal unimpeded, its foreign ministry said in a statement.