By IANS
New Delhi : Two Indians, who were kidnapped in Nigeria Saturday, are safe as the Nigerian government has begun negotiations with abductors for their release, India's deputy chief of mission in Abuja said Monday.
"The Nigerian government is carrying negotiations with the abductors. We are hoping they will be released soon," India's deputy chief of mission Anil K. Trigunayat told IANS over telephone from Nigerian capital Abuja.
The diplomat, however, added that it was difficult to predict when they will be released. "It's difficult to set a timeframe in such a situation," he said.
"They (abducted Indians) are safe and negotiations are on. That's all we can say at the moment," he said.
"The Nigerian government has been very helpful. They are positive," he said.
He could not confirm whether any ransom has been demanded by kidnappers, but added that in such situations in Nigeria kidnappers normally demand ransom.
The Indian government is in constant touch with the Indian high commission in Nigeria and is hoping for an early release of Sunil Dave and Debashish Kakoty, who were kidnapped Saturday morning by suspected militants armed with dynamite and machine guns from the oil heartland of Port Harcourt.
The two are among many Asians working for Eleme Petrochemicals Company – a state-run firm before it was sold to Idorama, an Indonesia-based group, last year.
Kakoti's father has claimed that abductors have demanded a ransom, which his employers have agreed to pay up.
Violence has escalated in Nigeria since February 2006 with kidnappings of foreign oil workers becoming frequent. This has severely affected Nigeria's output and forced thousands of expatriates to evacuate from the volatile region.