On Friday 10 August, 2007, gunmen seized an American manager from oil services firm, on his way to work in the oil rich city of Port-Harcourt. The garden city of Port-Harcourt was particularly prone to kidnappings and street gunbattles at the time.
The then Commissioner of police in Rivers state, Felix Ogbaudu confirmed to newsmen that the man was on his way to work when some gunmen in a car overtook his vehicle and blocked it before snatching him.
Abductions for ransom was a trending phenomenon in the oil producing Niger-Delta region. It was recorded that between January and August 2007, no fewer than 100 foreigners have been taken hostage in the oil rich region.
Early 2006, violence escalated in the impoverished region when armed rebels seeking control over oil revenues and an end to neglect by corrupt politicians started blowing up pipelines and oilfields.
Their raids shut down at least a fifth of oil output from Nigeria, an OPEC member and the world’s eighth-biggest exporter of crude. The disruption has contributed to record high oil prices on world markets in 2007.
But the violence in the Niger-Delta degenerated over time into an uncontrollable wave of abductions for ransom, armed robberies, turf wars between gangs and fighting connected to a dangerous trade in stolen crude.
Over 200 foreigners were kidnapped between 2006 and 2007, most of which were released unharmed in exchange for money, fueling the trend. This resulted in thousands of expatriate workers and their relatives fled the region.
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