An unspecified number of workers at a Nigerian cement factory owned by Africa’s richest man have been abducted, authorities said, after an armed group ambushed a staff bus they were riding in.

Three Aliko Dangote employees were shot during Monday’s attack in the Okpella area of Edo state, southern Nigeria, and are in the hospital, according to state police command spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor.

“The hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers took some of the passengers into the bush,” Nwabuzor said, without providing the exact number of staff that were seized. “The divisional police officer mobilized his operatives, vigilantes group and the hunters into the forest for a vigorous bush-combing operation to rescue the victims.”

Dangote Industries has not commented on the event, and a spokeswoman did not immediately reply to calls for comment.

The kidnapping of the Dangote employees is the latest in a string of events targeting workers in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, which produces more than 90% of the country’s oil.

On May 6 in the same state, three employees of Okomu Oil Palm Co. Plc were shot and killed, according to the firm. On May 7, four additional employees suffered injuries in an incident that the firm claimed its security guards stopped.

President Bola Tinubu campaigned on the promise of ending insecurity in the country, but it remains an issue as he approaches the end of his first year in office.

Source: Inquirernewsroom