By Edward Trotter
Two South Africans kidnapped in Nigeria were released on Saturday, Nigerian police have said.
In the latest publicized news of foreigners being targeted in the oil rich country, expats have become a jackpot magnet for desperate gangs eager to make overnight riches.
Nigerian police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood said in a statement: “Police put pressure on the suspected kidnappers using a police helicopter,” police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.
Thomas Arnold Pearce and Hendrik Gideon were kidnapped from a mining site in Maidaro, in Kaduna State, on January 23 and held captive in a forest hideout. theeyeofmedia.com heard that news of their kidnap sent their families in a state of panic so much that they made regular calls to Nigerian police and business associates of their missing family members.
Last October, British optician, 57 year old Mr Squire and his three companions were working at a clinic in the town of Enekoragha., from where an armed gang abducted them.
He was shot dead on the second day of their ordeal by the gang after trying to playing “Amazing Grace” on his acoustic guitar to soften the mood of fear. Sources from Nigeria theeyeofmedia.com at the time that it was believed Mr. Sqwuire’s act of singing was designed to alert people of their whereabouts.
Only about a week ago, two Americans and two Canadians were released after being kidnapped in the same state during a business trip.
Two accompanying police escorts were shot dead in the ambush near Jere, on the road from the town of Kafanchan to the state capital of Abuja.
Kidnapping is a rampant in many of Nigeria’s southern states, where political and social unrest have been the lot of a struggling and disillusioned people who feel cheated of their abundant natural resources. The natural wealth of the country is high enough to guarantee constant supply of food , electricity, and natural resources, but the prospect of any such state of bliss has been blighted by extreme corruption and complex domestic issues.
RAMPANT
Its economy has gone from bad to worse, with no sign of ease in the near future and criminals have reacted by being vicious in their goals for money
In 2016, armed kidnappers seized the uncle of Nigeria’s former president, GoodLuck-Jonathan, abducting 72-year-old uncle, Inegite Jonathan, from his own residence.