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The abductors of an Israeli man kidnapped in Nigeria Tuesday are demanding $12 million for his release, an Israeli embassy official told Reuters Friday.
The abductors of an Israeli man kidnapped in Nigeria Tuesday are demanding $12 million for his release, an Israeli embassy official told Reuters Friday.
The unnamed official said there was no deadline given for the ransom payment.
The Israeli businessman was snatched from the driveway of his home in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt on Tuesday night. The victim's family has asked that his name be withheld from publication.
"My biggest concern is for the man's health," Port Harcourt police Commissioner Hassan Bala told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday afternoon. "The abducted man is diabetic and we call on the abductors to at least contact us for the sake of the man's health."
Police were searching for an accomplice who knew the victim, Bala said.
In 90 percent of these cases someone from the inside helped the abductors with information, including the schedule of the kidnap victim, he said.
The Israeli man's driver told police he had no idea who might have wanted to abduct him, Bala said.
Foreign Ministry officials declined to be interviewed on the subject on Thursday, and the family has been instructed to keep a low profile until things become clearer.
Hundreds of people are abducted in the city every year against a background of political and ethnic conflict. Most abductions in the area end with a payment of ransom.