Militants kidnap five expatriates, kill driver in Calabar

At least five expatriates and two Nigerians were
on Wednesday kidnapped at the Idundu area of
the Calabar-Oban Road by suspected militants.

The incident happened at about 6am when the
foreigners and their Nigerian colleagues,
working for MacMahon Construction Company,
were on their way to work.

The construction firm is located at the
Mfamosing Plant of the United Cement
Company of Nigeria Limited in the Akamkpa
Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The company is said to be one of the major
contracting firms to Lafarge Holcim, owners of
UniCem.

The workers, who were conveyed in four
MacMahon vehicles, had been escorted by a
security pickup that had four armed policemen
when they were attacked by the gunmen before
the Idundu Bridge.

The armed police escort team could do nothing
while the attack lasted.

One of the expatriates identified as Tim Croot,
an Australian and the driver of one of the
vehicles, identified as Henshaw, were said to
have escaped, while another driver, Matthew,
was killed in the process.

Smart360news learnt from a reliable source that
those kidnapped were Jack Countentz
(Australia); Mark Gabberdy (Australia); Peter
Zoutenbier (Australia), Wayne Smith (South
Africa), Jamal Khan (New Zealand), Austin Enok
(Nigeria) and a driver identified as Howel
(Nigeria).

An eyewitness, Akan Akpan, said the kidnappers
came down from the bridge where they had
kept their boat’s engine running for almost an
hour before taking the expatriates and the
Nigerians away.

He said, “I was coming back from the farm this
morning when the incident occurred. The
kidnappers came down from the bridge, shot
the driver of the vehicle and took the victims
away through the river.

“The vehicles conveying the expatriates and the
two Nigerians were abandoned by the roadside
with the dead body of the driver. From all
indications, it appeared like the expatriates
were going to work at the Lafarge Holcim plant
in Mfamosing.”

A statement issued by the Communications
Officer of Lafarge, Viola Graham-Douglas,
confirmed that the kidnapped expatriates were
MacMahon contractors.

In a short message, Graham-Douglas said, “One
of our contractors, MacMahon, has informed us
that a security incident has occurred on the road
from Calabar involving some of their
employees. MacMahon is working with the
security agencies to resolve the situation.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, has said the police are
working with the Nigerian Navy to ensure that
the victims are released safely.

“The police are aware of the matter. Five
persons were kidnapped. They include two
Australians, one South African and two
Nigerians. The driver of the vehicle was shot
dead. The police will ensure that the victims are
released unharmed,” he assured.