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Nigerian militants abduct Lebanese worker

By DPA

Abuja : Militants in Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta abducted a Lebanese construction worker Tuesday, police in the oil-rich region said.

The Lebanese man, an employee of Nigercat Construction Company in the southern city of Warri, was abducted on his way to work.

"No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. We have started investigations to locate the whereabouts of the Lebanese and his abductors and I am sure, we will get to the root of it all soon," said Bisi Owoyemi, a police spokeswoman in the region.

Nigercat Construction Company is working on township roads in Warri for the Delta State government.

Abduction of expatriate oil workers in the Niger Delta had been on the rise, particularly since 2006.

Groups of militants in the oil-rich region calling for a greater say in natural resource use have said abductions were designed to get the attention of the Nigerian government and that of the international community to the deprivation in the region.

The Niger Delta provides oil, which Nigeria exports for more than 90 percent of its total annual income, but the region is barren of any meaningful social infrastructure.

Outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo has tried unsuccessfully both with dialogue and force to quell the violence and dozens of foreign workers have been kidnapped since last year, with most being released shortly after.