Four Thais released after Nigeria kidnap ordeal

Four Thais held in an
apparent ransom kidnapping in Nigeria have
been freed unharmed, a spokesman for the
kingdom’s foreign ministry in Bangkok said
Saturday. A gang of armed kidnappers seized the four
Thais and two Nigerians on a waterway while
they were on their way to work at a state-
owned fish farm in the African nation’s
southern Rivers State, Nigerian officials said
last week. “All of them are released,” ministry spokesman
Manasvi Srisodapol said of the Thai nationals. “The Thai Foreign Minister has talked with one
of them. They are fine and will continue to
work in Nigeria,” he added, without confirming
whether a ransom was paid or the exact time of
their release. It was unclear what happened to the Nigerian
hostages. Kidnaps for ransom are common in the remote
and gang-ridden area. Most kidnap victims in southern Nigeria are
released unharmed after the payment of a
ransom, unlike in the country’s north, where
Islamist extremists have killed a number of
their hostages. One of Thai hostages spoke to Thai television
on Saturday and said he believed the kidnap
was linked to rivalry between competing fish
farms. “They took us as hostages and used us as a
bargaining chip,” Somchoke Panpinij told
Thailand’s Channel 7. “We will not return to Thailand yet… I came
here to help them to develop their country.”