Back home at last, oil worker held by Nigerian kidnap gang for a month
A SCOTS oil worker who was kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria and held hostage for a month has finally returned home.
John Hiddleston, 65, was working on a rig in the West African country’s Delta State when he was snatched by an armed gang.
The father of five suffered ‘considerable trauma’ during his ordeal, when he and two colleagues were dragged into a swamp.
The terrified men were eventually abandoned in a forest, as elite security teams closed in.
Mr Hiddleston needed prolonged treatment in hospital but the Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal he is finally back at home in Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire.
Last night his wife Mary, known to friends and family as ‘Ray’, said her husband was ‘fine’.
A close friend and neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘He’s home. The police collected him from the airport and brought him home. They’ve got another couple of interviews to go with the Foreign Office and the police but, once that’s done, he can try to unwind a bit. He’s been through quite an ordeal.’
A picture posted on Facebook on Friday appears to show Mr and Mrs Hiddleston reunited and smiling broadly as they sit in the back of a car. The caption states ‘no words needed’ and is followed by two love heart symbols.
Mr Hiddleston and two others – Canadian Dwight Sullivan and a local worker who has not yet been named – were abducted during a raid on April 26. Nine other people were injured during the attack.
After the men were found, deputy superintendent Nnamdi Omoni, of Nigeria’s Rivers State Police Command, said: ‘They were found in the forest close to where they were kidnapped. The gunmen were not there. To the best of my knowledge, there was no ransom.’
At the time, a Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘Police Scotland officers are providing support to his family. We’re grateful to Nigerian authorities for their role in negotiating his release.’ The rescue operation was so shrouded in secrecy that even Mr Hiddleston’s brother William, 62, of Kirkconnel, Dumfriesshire, ‘never even knew he’d been taken hostage’.
Mr Hiddleston – who has worked in the oil industry for 20 years – is one of a number of kidnap victims in the Delta region in recent years.
At the start of this month, after the rescue, the targeted rig’s owners, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, said: ‘Security arrangements are being enhanced.’