3 sports journalists for African satellite channel kidnapped in Nigeria

3 sports reporters kidnapped in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria — Gunmen kidnapped three sports journalists Monday working for an African satellite channel in the oil-rich and restive Niger Delta, a region that has seen a lull in violence because of a government amnesty program, a colleague said.

The SuperSport journalists, including two Nigerians and one South African, were near Warri on their way to an airport when they were attacked by unknown assailants, SuperSport journalist and announcer Charles Anazodo told The Associated Press. Anazodo said the South Africa-based sports network, distributed by satellite throughout the continent, had yet to receive a ransom demand.

“On their way back to another match venue, they were robbed. A few of them were taken away,” Anazodo said. “The state governors of Imo state and Rivers state are working hard to ensure these guys are found.”

A federal police spokesman did not answer repeated calls for comment late Monday night.

Malusi Mogale, a spokesman for South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Department, confirmed that a South African journalist working for the channel had been kidnapped. However, he said he had no other details about the attack.

“Our mission will give a comprehensive report tomorrow (Tuesday) and we will be able to release a full statement,” Mogale said late Monday night.

Attacks against journalists aren’t uncommon in Nigeria, a country where corruption pervades government and business. A political reporter and editor for a Nigerian newspaper was killed by gunmen at his home in September and beatings happen during elections and police actions. However, an attack on sports journalists remains something unique in a country where soccer reigns supreme.

Kidnappings in the Niger Delta can be political or criminal acts — or both. Militants in the Niger Delta have attacked pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company employees and fought government troops since January 2006. They demand that the federal government send more oil-industry funds to Nigeria’s southern region, which remains poor despite five decades of oil production.

The government offered an amnesty deal that calmed much of the violence there, but militant groups have grown impatient with what they describe as a slow response to their demands. Criminal gangs also work in the Delta’s creeks and rural lands, kidnapping infants and others they think can fetch high ransoms.