Abuja - A Nigerian criminal gang released a United Arab Emirates man on March 19 in the southern town of Ibadan after holding him for 60 days, the state security services (SSS) said on Thursday, adding that seven men - but not the gang leaders - had been arrested.
The kidnappers tricked Mohammed Khamis al Ali into coming to Nigeria on Jan. 20 to carry out a business deal in the southern commercial hub Lagos, the SSS said. He was seized and held in a remote village in nearby Osun state for 2 months.
Nigeria has become infamous for a type of fraud called "419 scams", after the number in the penal code. These often take the form of emails asking for a business partner or bank details, or promising vast riches in return for a small up-front fee.
Kidnapping is another major enterprise in Africa's second biggest economy, the vast majority of victims being Nigerian.
Snatching foreigners in the oil producing Niger Delta has also been common in recent years, though there has been a sharp reduction since an amnesty for militants in 2009. Most kidnap victims were released after payment of a ransom.
"(Al Ali) was lured to visit Nigeria for a phantom business transaction by a fake company, Finuche Investments, was abducted by a kidnap syndicate and held hostage for about 60 days," SSS spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar told reporters.
Ogar said the seven men arrested were guarding al Ali but the masterminds were still at large. The suspects who had been arrested stood behind Ogar as she spoke, heads bowed, some in tears.
When questioned, they said they dumped al Ali in Ibadan after their bosses stopped contacting them with instructions about what to do with him. Neither Ogar nor the suspects mentioned payment of a ransom.
Kidnappings apparently motivated by Islamist ideology rather than cash are an emerging trend in largely Muslim northern Nigeria, where the militant group Boko Haram is waging a low level insurgency against the central government.
A Briton and an Italian seized in May last year were killed on March 8 before Nigerian and British special forces could rescue them, while a German seized in Kano, northern Nigeria's biggest city, in January is still missing.
A group claiming to be from al Qaeda's north African wing posted a statement on the internet last week saying they were holding the German kidnapped in January. - Reuters
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God save we nigerians