Four Chinese were kidnapped by armed men on the night of July 22 to 23 in a quarry in southern Nigeria and the policeman protecting them was shot dead, local police said on Wednesday. " Four Chinese workers were kidnapped last night by armed men whose identity is unknown, " Irene Ugbo, police spokeswoman for Cross River State (South East), told AFP.
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A police officer, responsible for their protection, was found dead, shot dead, she said, adding that the search to find the perpetrators of the kidnapping was underway. According to a local official, Dominic Akpan, these are six people armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.
“ They shot in the air, one of them aimed at the policeman and shot him dead. He recovered the policeman's weapon before heading towards the Chinese, ”he told AFP. The reasons for the kidnapping are still unknown, but kidnappings for ransom, particularly targeting foreign nationals, are common in Nigeria, especially in the south of the country. Victims are usually released a few days or weeks after the kidnapping, after a ransom has been paid.