Prime Minister John Key says that there is no chance of the Government paying a ransom for a New Zealander being held hostage in Nigeria.
As many as seven people are believed to have been kidnapped, including a Kiwi and at least four Australians, after being attacked on the outskirts of Calabar in the south, by gunmen who killed their driver.
The workers, two of whom police said later escaped, were contractors for cement company Lafarge Africa, Reuters reported. They were attacked in the early morning (about 4.30pm yesterday, NZ time). The kidnappers had yet to make contact with police.
Calabar is a coastal city 570km east of Lagos, and the capital of Cross River State in the Niger Delta region, where both criminal gangs and militants have been active.
Mr Key told reporters today it was likely the kidnappers want money, rather than being part of a terrorist organisation, but the New Zealand Government had a strong policy not to pay ransoms.
He said paying a ransom could put a bounty on the head of any New Zealander who travelled to a dangerous part of the world, and would potentially make the situation worse.
There was some initial confusion over the number of victims and nationalities of those involved, as police in Nigeria gave conflicting accounts.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters today at least three Australian citizens and one an Australian resident had been kidnapped.
Mr Turnbull called the incident a "very serious kidnapping" in response to a journalist's question and urged calm in reporting the incident.
"These are the facts as we know them: three Australians and one Australian resident were among seven people kidnapped in an attack on an Australia contractor's operations in Nigeria. One person was killed in the attack," he said.
Kidnappings of foreigners are common in the Delta region, which holds most of the crude oil whose sales make about 70% of Nigeria's national income.
OPEC member Nigeria was Africa's top oil producer until a recent spate of attacks on oil facilities pushed it behind Angola. Production has fallen from 2.2 million barrels at the start of the year to around 1.6 million barrels, helping push up global oil prices.
Lafarge Africa said it had been informed of the incident by Australian contractor Macmahon.
"Macmahon is working with the security agencies to resolve this situation," said Viola Graham-Douglas, a spokeswoman for Lafarge Africa.
Macmahon Holdings Ltd confirmed the incident in a statement late on Thursday.
"We are working to ensure the safe return of all the men involved and are in communication with their families," the company said.
"Macmahon is providing support to the men's families and we ask the media to respect their privacy at this time. Counselling has also been made available for all Macmahon employees and their families."
MFAT working with Australia, company
In New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said officials were in contact with the hostage's family. A spokesman said the ministry continued to seek more information and was in contact with Australian authorities as well as the mining company.
An MFAT spokesman said there were currently 25 New Zealanders in Nigeria registered with the government. The ministry's website said as there was no New Zealand diplomatic presence in Nigeria, the ability for the government to provide assistance to citizens was severely limited, particularly in regions where travel was advised against.
MFAT puts Nigeria at extreme and high risk due to the threat from terrorism, kidnapping and violent crime.
It advised against all travel in the north and against all tourist and other non-essential travel throughout the rest of the country. It said there was a high threat of kidnapping throughout Nigeria, but particularly in northern Nigeria, where most of the recent kidnappings had occurred.
Expatriate workers at oil and gas facilities were at particular risk of kidnapping as the crimes were often financially motivated.
New Zealanders working in the northern states against Government advice were advised to seek professional security advice and ensure appropriate personal security measures were in place at all times.
Another high-profile kidnapping involving a New Zealander was that of Mary Quin, who in 1998 was among a tour group that was taken hostage by armed and masked militants in Yemen.
Dr Quin - now a member of the board of Westpac New Zealand - was one of 16 tourists taken hostage by the group, who used them as shields in a gun battle between the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army and Yemeni troops.
Dr Quin, who was born in Palmerston North, managed to flee after she ripped an AK-47 from a kidnapper before making her escape. She later wrote a book about her experience: Kidnapped in Yemen.
