According to foreign media reports, Nigerian militants kidnapped three Chinese citizens and killed two local workers in Niger State in central Nigeria.
Reuters pointed out that these gunmen should be members of local armed gangs who caused chaos and carried out mass kidnappings in Nepal. Nigerian police said they attacked a Chinese worker who was installing a transmission line tower in a village on Tuesday (January 4). After a gun battle with the police, three Chinese citizens were kidnapped and four other Chinese citizens were rescued.
The gunbattle that day caused a Chinese employee and two local workers to be shot, and two local people died in the hospital afterward. The Nigerian police stated that they have joined forces with the military to search for missing workers.
According to news from the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, on January 6, 2022, Ambassador Cui Jianchun met with the Nigerian Police Chief Usman, the head of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security Working Group Yin Guohai and members, the National Defense Attaché Lin Wei of the Embassy and the Consular Counsellor Guo Zhiqiang attended the meeting.
Cui Jianchun said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens in Nigeria. The occurrence of relevant criminal activities not only seriously damages the safety and rights of Chinese citizens, but also has a very negative impact on Nepal's social stability and international image. China urges the Nepalese side to step up its efforts, resolutely and severely crackdown on crimes involving Chinese citizens with a "zero tolerance" attitude, and bring lawbreakers to justice. China is willing to work with Nepal to continuously deepen cooperation in law enforcement and security between the two countries, create a model for bilateral pragmatic cooperation, and build a China-Nepal community with a shared future for security.
Yin Guohai said that fighting crime is the common responsibility and mission of the Chinese and Nigerian police. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security's working group is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Nepalese police, promote the exchange of intelligence and clues between the two sides, promote law enforcement and security cooperation, and jointly maintain safety and security of Chinese citizens in Nepal. rights and interests.
Usman said that Nepal attaches great importance to China’s concerns and will further mobilize all parties to strengthen Nepal-China law enforcement cooperation, strengthen information sorting and intelligence collection, severely crackdown on criminal activities involving Chinese citizens, make every effort to detect cases, and severely punish criminals. Nepalese Chinese companies and personnel create a safe environment for development.
According to Reuters, these groups are called "bandits" in Nigeria. They will kidnap schoolchildren and ordinary citizens in the north and northwest of Nigeria, usually for ransom, and then retreat to the forest. These "bandits" exacerbate the insecurity of Nigerian citizens in their daily lives.
On January 5 this year, the Nigerian government classified two "bandit" groups as terrorist organizations and allowed security forces to use lethal force without judicial review.
