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Gunmen kidnapped three Nigerian journalists and a driver traveling through the country's oil-rich, but volatile southern delta, a colleague said Monday, the latest troubling sign of insecurity in the West African nation.
The reporters had just left a conference in Akwa Ibom state Sunday when a speeding car filled with gunmen forced their bus to stop, said Mohammed Garba, president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. The gunmen got on board and commandeered the bus, Garba said.
Garba said one of the journalists called him several hours later at the request of the gunmen. Garba said the kidnappers made a ransom demand of $1.67 million.
"We tried to negotiate," Garba said. "Unfortunately, the abductors have not been so friendly."
Attacks against journalists aren't uncommon in Nigeria, a country of 150 million where corruption pervades government and business. A political reporter and editor for a Nigerian newspaper was killed by gunmen at his home in September and beatings happen during elections and police actions.
But kidnappings of local journalists remain rare as many have low wages and must sell advertisements for their sections. Some rely on cash payments from interview subjects or "brown envelope" bribes slipped into briefing materials at news conferences.
In March, kidnappers seized three sports journalists from a South Africa-based satellite network. Gunmen later released the men.
"It was unbelievable to us. I never thought that journalists could be kidnapped," Garba said. "Journalists in Nigeria are poorly paid. If really these guys are looking for money, they have made the wrong move."
Militants and criminal gangs once targeted only foreign oil workers and contractors for six-figure ransoms in the Niger Delta, a region of swamps, mangrove fields and palm-tree-lined creeks about the size of Portugal. Now, with oil firms keeping their workers hidden behind razor wire and under paramilitary protection, gangs have increasingly targeted middle-class Nigerian families unable to afford that security.
The government offered an amnesty deal that calmed much of the militancy there, but groups have grown impatient with what they describe as a slow response to their demands.
This kidnapping "has further exposed the level of insecurity in that region and Nigeria as a whole," Garba said. "The government has to address this problem."
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Fifa was warned before this year's World Cup of fears that Nigeria's team could be vulnerable to match-fixing, the BBC has learned.
An investigator for Uefa raised concerns, including suspicions over betting patterns.
Nigeria went out of the tournament in the first round, losing to Greece.
World governing body Fifa does not deny receiving a warning but say it has "no indication" of match-fixing in any World Cup matches.
BBC Newsnight understands an investigator working with Uefa first became suspicious during qualifying rounds of the World Cup.
It is alleged that certain Nigerian players came forward and said their team was vulnerable to manipulation.
On the morning of Nigeria's first match, he alerted Fifa's new Early Warning System, set up to look for signs of match-rigging, of his concerns.
After Newsnight was aired Fifa responded, saying no information provided by any informant relating to potential match-fixing at the tournament has had any substance.
A statement said: "Fifa and the Early Warning System (EWS) have a network of informants from which we receive information.
"Of course, as you may understand, we will not disclose the identity of the informants. What we can say is that at least until today no information provided by the informants to Fifa in relation to any potential match-fixing activities during the 2010 Fifa World Cup have proved to have any substance.
"Furthermore, we can also say that there is no indication whatsoever until today of any match-fixing situations during any of the matches of the 2010 Fifa World Cup."
German journalist Christian Bergmann also had a call just before the first Nigerian game of the tournament from a Uefa contact who said there were suggestions that "some players from the Nigerian team are actually involved in some form of manipulation".
In their second game of the tournament, Nigeria were strong favourites to beat Greece and took an early 1-0 lead.
But after just 33 minutes Nigeria had a man sent off and Greece subsequently scored their first ever World Cup goals to win 2-1.
After their elimination, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan was so angry with the poor performances that he suspended the whole team from international competition. He later reversed that decision following a complaint from Fifa.
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It has been reported that the rate of child crimes have increased over the years, although the Police has put up a spirited fight to prevent such crimes. According to statistics from the Police, over 3,760 cases involving children have been reported and investigated.
Most of these cases range from child neglect, abuse, torture, abduction, sacrifice, murder, kidnapp and abortion. Although some measures have been instituted to reduce these crimes, one area that has not been exploited is the contribution of Nigerian movies towards crime.
For most of you who have watched these movies, the scenes depicted are mostly those that involve violence, witchcraft, murder, child sacrifice, robbery, theft and breaking families.
The images these movies portray are detrimental to our society and could possibly be one of the little known causes of increased crime in Uganda. Desperate people pick tips from these movies on how to execute crimes.
Over the years, the Nigerian movie sales have increased tremendously. The entry of these movies that go for as low as sh1,000 on the streets, has a negative effect on our families and society.
Parents have entrusted housemaids with their children and they spend most of their time watching Nigerian movies as opposed to doing domestic chores.
Have we ever assessed the impact that the Nigerian movies have on our families? Are we aware of the content in these movies and how this can either contribute to or destroy our families?
I have also read about cases where families and the public have blamed the Police for failure to protect children, yet parents are contributing to the bulk of criminals by breeding them in their homes.
The Police should investigate the contribution of Nigerian movies towards increased crime rates and take appropriate action.
It is time parents banned Nigerian movies from households and screened the material they expose their families to.
Lastly, the electronic media should sieve what movies are fit for public viewing and which movies would fuel violence and evil thoughts.
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