Seven expatriates working for oil servicing company and
contractor to Chevron Nigeria Limited were abducted by gunmen at the Pennington
oil platform in offshore Nigeria. The spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF)
Operation Pulo Shield, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, has confirmed the incident.
The seven expatriates are six Russians and one Estonian who were
working aboard a vessel belonging to Bourbon International Oil Company when the
gunmen invaded and took them away. No group has claimed responsibility for the
action. The attacked vessel is known as Bourbon Liberty 249. The expatriates,
according security sources, were part of a team of 15 workers when the pirates
struck. The other eight workers who were unhurt during the operation had since
been transferred to the Nigerian Port at Onne, Rivers State. The attacked
vessel was believed to be sailing from the Pennington Offshore Terminal situated
16 miles south-west of the entrance to the Fishtown River.
The nearest community to the platform is said to be some
coastal communities in Bayelsa State. Investigation revealed that the military
high command has ordered all the Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian
Navy located in the Niger Delta to comb the entire area and fish out the
kidnappers, a situation that has provoked tension along the coastal communities
in the state.
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