A Romanian engineer was abducted by armed men in Nigeria on Monday, October 10. Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcement on Tuesday.

According to the Romanian authorities, the man’s family has been notified and the Romanian diplomatic mission in Nigeria is in contact with the Nigerian federal authorities who are investigating this case and with the Romanian's employer.

The Romanian engineer, Christian Nedelcu (52), was abducted together with several other people from his work team on the Owa Oyibo village, in Agbor region. According to Nigerian newspaper Dailypost.ng, the attackers opened fire on the security personnel that was escorting the Romanian and his team.

The engineer was apparently working for construction company Dextron Nigeria, according to Nigerian police representatives quoted by Reuters.

Local militia groups in Southern Nigeria have been opposing the exploitation of natural resources in the area by foreign companies. Since 2004, these groups have kidnapped many employees of foreign companies whom they freed in exchange for ransoms.

This is not the first kidnapping case involving Romanian citizens in Africa. In April 2015, a Romanian security officer was abducted from manganese mining project in northern Burkina Faso. A Jihadist group claimed it kidnapped the man. The Romanian authorities haven't issued any updates on this case in the past months.

editor@romania-insider.com