British doctor and his wife kidnapped in Nigeria
Couple among team of four missionaries abducted by militants in lawless swampland of the south
A MANHUNT was under way last night for a gang suspected of abducting a British-led missionary team in a crimeplagued region of southern Nigeria.
The four missionaries, who include a former GP from Cambridge and his wife, were abducted from their accommodation in a remote part of Nigeria’s Delta state late last Friday night.
They had been operating a series of clinics for the past 14 years, despite the high risk across Delta state from kidnappers, armed robbers and pirates.
Zanna Ibrahim, Delta’s police commissioner, said the prime suspects were a local militant group called the Karowei, and that the kidnapping may have been in response to “Operation Crocodile Smile”, a recent law and order operation. The identity of the missionary team is known to The Daily Telegraph, but is not being published at the request of the Foreign Office.
The GP and his wife, both 57, operate four clinics that offer free medical treatment, including immunisations and natal classes.
The British charity that the missionaries work with describes its aim as “to train, resource and remunerate local workers, and to partner with government and other NGOS in work that is driven and underpinned through a faith in Jesus Christ”. Much of the missionaries’ work is done in Delta’s “riverine” areas – dense swamps and creeks accessible only by boat.
The Foreign Office advises against travelling to such areas because they lie mostly beyond the reach of the law and are havens for militant groups. While such groups generally target oil workers based in nearby Port Harcourt for kidnap, other Westerners can also be considered a target.
Unlike Boko Haram, the Islamic militant group that operates in north-east Nigeria, such kidnappings are usually carried out for ransom and are resolved relatively quickly.
Chief Theo Fakama, from the local Enukorowa community, said villagers were “saddened” because the missionaries had “brought succour to residents of the community”.
British missionaries came to southern Nigeria a century ago, spreading Christianity and setting up many schools that remain in operation today. However, it is relatively unusual for Western missionaries to operate there today, not least because of the kidnapping risk. While the team may have relied partly on the goodwill of the local community for protection, one Western kidnap consultant with experience of southern Nigeria said he was surprised the missionaries were there for as long as they were without an incident like this happening earlier.
The missing GP is understood to be an evangelical Christian, and has two university-educated sons also working for the mission. They are not understood to be among those abducted.