Three Dutch nationals kidnapped in Nigeria

Abuja, May 5 (IANS) Unidentified gunmen have abducted three Dutch nationals from a coastal area in Nigeria's southern state of Bayelsa, security operatives said Monday.

The expatriates were kidnapped Sunday, Xinhua quoted a police spokesperson as saying, adding that the Dutch men went on a visit to Letugbene Community of Ekeremor local government area of the oil-rich Nigerian state without security escort.

The security agency had no further information about the Dutch men's abduction, Alex Akhigbe, Bayelsa state police spokesperson, said.

Troops have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers, said a spokesperson of the military-led Joint Task Force (JTF) said while confirming the incident.

According to a local source, the expatriates, based in the neighbouring Delta State, had gone to inspect a building for renovating the structure into a world-class healthcare facility before the gunmen struck and took them into captivity.

They were, thereafter, whisked away in a speed boat to an unknown route, added another source.