LAGOS, Nigeria (Agence France-Presse) — Gunmen who hijacked a school bus and kidnapped 15 children in southern Nigeria were negotiating with the school’s owner on Wednesday, as nearby banks and shops remained closed out of fear of further attacks, the police said.
“We are intensifying our efforts to set free the 15 children,” said Geofrey Ogbonna, the Abia State police spokesman. He provided no details on the talks with the kidnappers or the police efforts to track them down.
The bus was carrying students of Abayi International School, a private nursery and primary school, when it was hijacked Monday in the city of Aba. Despite the school’s name, all of the children are believed to be Nigerian and from wealthy families.
The kidnappers have demanded a ransom of $128,900.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday called the incident “utterly callous and cruel” and pledged government action to free the victims.
Scores of kidnappings have taken place in recent years in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, often carried out by criminal gangs seeking ransom payments but also by militants demanding a fairer distribution of oil revenue.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com
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