Nigeria assures Government on kidnapped Lankan

The Nigerian Government has assured the Sri Lankan Government it will do all it can to secure the release of a Sri Lankan national kidnapped in Nigeria.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said that the Government is in touch with the Nigerian High Commission in Colombo as well as the family of the Sri Lankan man abducted in Nigeria and also his Nigerian employer.

Nigerian kidnappers are demanding a huge ransom to free the?Sri Lankan man abducted last?week but?Colonne said that since the issue is of sensitive nature the Government will not comment too much on the incident.

The Sri Lankan national was abducted during a brazen kidnapping operation at the boundary of Ondo and Kogi States in Nigeria. The man, identified by the Sri Lankan embassy staff as Karunaratna, worked for an Italian-owned construction company and has lived in Nigeria for more than 10 years.

Karunaratna was said to have been on his way to finalise a construction deal at the Kogi and Ondo boundary when he was abducted.

The police escort attached to Karunaratna?s vehicle was overpowered by the kidnappers in the process, and was immediately murdered by the assailants.

His driver, identified as Bitrus Dada, also sustained serious injuries as a result of the attack and is presently recuperating at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo in Ondo state. (Colombo Gazette)