China yesterday called for the release of five Chinese telecommunications workers abducted in southern Nigeria's troubled oil-producing region, calling it a matter of the "highest importance."
The five workers were taken hostage on Friday by unidentified gunmen in the Niger river delta region, an area notorious for kidnappings by separatists seeking a cut of the area's oil wealth.
"China's leaders attach the highest importance to this," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"President Hu Jintao (
Liu said relevant Chinese officials were "actively cooperating" with their Nigerian counterparts in an effort to secure the release of the workers.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that the country's ambassador to Nigeria had lodged a formal complaint over the inciden. Nigerian authorities responded with a vow to free the hostages, Xinhua said.
"All will be done to free the hostages as soon as possible," Xinhua quoted the Nigerian foreign ministry's Secretary Hakeem Baba-Ahmed as saying.
"We want to assure other nationals that Nigeria is still a good nation for the conduct of business and will never compromise law and order," Hakeem told Xinhua.
Media reports quoted Chinese Ambassador Xu Jianguo (
More than 60 foreigners, mostly oil workers, were kidnapped last year by armed separatists in the delta region, who demand that a greater share of the region's oil revenue be given to its ethnic Ijaw people.
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