ABUJA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Local police in Nigeria have arrested 11 suspected kidnappers in the country's oil hub Port Harcourt, authorities said on Tuesday.
The kidnapper suspects were nabbed following intelligence report, said Abba Kyari, police commander in charge of the special operation which led to their arrest.
A former oil worker who served a multinational oil firm in Nigeria and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirate was identified as the leader of the gang, according to the police commander.
The suspect has already confessed to being a member of a militant group in the country's Niger Delta region and the mastermind of the cold-blooded murder of a militant group leader in 2009, he told reporters in Lagos.
"He also confessed to being the kingpin of a kidnap syndicate that was known for targeting medical doctors, pharmacists and other unsuspecting residents of Port Harcourt since 2015," Kyari added.
Abduction is common in Nigeria. The abduction of foreigners and high profile individuals in the country has been on the increase recently.
