Hostages escape from captors

The Nigerian Army says it has found two Russian hostages who escaped from their captors in the Niger Delta. A spokesman said the pair escaped on foot and were found several days later by soldiers.

Nigerian Army Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Moussa said the two escaped from the base of the militants and have been wandering in the delta of the Niger River for five days and were eventually spotted
by an army patrol.

Both men were snatched in December in the town of Ikot-Abasi in
the southern state of Akwa Ibom and reportedly taken by gunmen in speedboats at night.

They worked for the aluminium plant Alskon which belongs to the Russian corporation Rusal.

Since 2006, more than 300 foreigners have been abducted for ransom in the Niger Delta, the heartland of the country’s oil industry.