Nigeria police launch rescue effort for 4 abducted Turkish nationals

Four Turkish citizens have been kidnapped in Nigeria and police are conducting a rescue operation, a Kwara state police spokesman said Sunday.

"We have since deployed operatives to search and rescue the expatriates as well as arrest the criminals behind their abduction," Ayo Okasanmi, police spokesman in the state, told Anadolu Agency by phone.

Governor of the state AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the government is working with the police to ensure prompt release of the expatriates who were reportedly taken late Saturday.

The police had earlier confirmed the kidnapping of Seyit Keklik (25), Yasin Çolak (33), Ergun Yurdakul (35), and Şener Apal (40), who are reportedly construction workers.

They were reportedly kidnapped as they returned from a local market where they had gone to buy drinks.

"Four Turkish expatriates were kidnapped at a drinking spot in Gbale village in the Edu local government area of Kwara State," Okasanmi said earlier Sunday.

The incident was reported around 11:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, he said.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it had no further information.

Kwara is one of the safest states in Nigeria and Saturday's kidnapping was deemed a one-off event in the relatively peaceful state.

It is the second time within a week that Turkish nationals have been abducted in Nigeria.

Last week, 10 Turkish sailors were abducted off Nigeria when pirates attacked a Turkish-flagged ship bound to Abidjan city of the Ivory Coast from the Port of Douala in Cameroon.