Lagos: Two Indian nationals working in central Nigeria have been kidnapped, police told AFP on Friday.
The men named as Sai Srinivas and Anish Sharma were ambushed on Wednesday morning in the town of Gboko, Benue state, while they were driving to work.
"They were going to the company where they worked, the Dangote cement factory," Benue police spokesman Moses Yamu told AFP.
"An investigation has been opened on the matter already and suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident," Yamu said.
"The suspects we have in our custody have given useful information that will assist in the rescue of the Indians," Yamu said.
India's minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj said the government was aware of the kidnapping.
"We are doing everything to secure their release," Swaraj said in a statement on Twitter.
Kidnapping for ransom has been a long-standing problem in the country where criminal gangs target wealthy Nigerians and expatriate workers.
Contrary to some reports in India, Nigerian security experts say it is unlikely that Boko Haram Islamists orchestrated the kidnapping of the Indians.
"Given the circumstances, the Indian victims seized in Benue state appears to be a financially motivated kidnap by a criminal group," said Nicole Elliott, an analyst at risk management company Red24.
"There are indications that the kidnapping threat in Nigeria may increase further in the coming months in response to political and socio-economic challenges," Elliott added.
Nigeria is facing an imminent recession and renewed militant activity in the oil-producing south where kidnappings are most common.
AFP
