Canadians kidnapped in Nigeria ambush

Road notorious for abductions

The f ederal government said Wednesday it was looking into reports that two Canadians and two Americans had been kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria along a highway that is notorious for abductions.

During the ambush, two security personnel who were travelling with the group were shot and killed by the assailants, local media reported.

There were no immediate reports of ransom demands from the captors.

The Vanguard newspaper reported that the abductions happened Tuesday night in the state of Kaduna along Kagarko- Jere road, as the group was returning to the capital, Abuja, from the town of Kafanchan.

“The two police escorts attached to them engaged the kidnappers in a fierce gun battle, which resulted in the unfortunate death of the two police officers,” Mukhtar Aliyu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state police, told Reuters.

The same spokesman told The Associated Press the foreigners were investors who were in the West African nation to set up solar stations in villages around Kafanchan.

“Global Affairs Canada is aware of reports of the kidnapping of two Canadian citizens in Nigeria,” spokesman John Babcock said in an email. “Consular officials in Nigeria are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. To protect the privacy of the individuals concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.”

Nigerian Senator Shehu Sani posted a tweet condemning the ambush. “I call on all security agents to in- tensify the search for these men. My condolences to the families of the deceased.”

Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria, especially on the Kaduna- toAbuja highway.

Last year two German archeologists were seized at gunpoint and later freed unharmed by their kidnappers. In 2016, Sierra Leone’s deputy high commissioner was kidnapped at gunpoint on the highway and held for five days before he was released.

Victims usually are freed unharmed after a ransom is paid, though security forces have rescued a few highprofile abductees. A number of bandits, including herdsmen, have been arrested.

Officials with the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa said in an email Wednesday t hey were communicating with their counterparts in Nigeria about the “purported incident” but had no information to offer. The Nigerian embassy in Washington did not return a message.

One company operating a solar power project in Kafanchan is Anjeed Innova Group. When National Post asked its president, Thomas Sherman, whether he had any knowledge of the kidnapping incident, he replied in an email: “I cannot com- ment at this time.”

The firm’s website states that its business model is “based on mutual partnerships in which companies and local communities forge projects that yield high social and commercial return.”

According to the Canadian government website, travellers are urged to avoid all non-essential travel to Nigeria as “the security situation throughout the country is unpredictable and there is a significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter- communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings.”

The state of Kaduna, where the ambush occurred, is part of a cluster of northern states where the extremist group Boko Haram is based.