Briton's Nigeria kidnap confirmed

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A Briton was one of four foreign oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria on Friday, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Local police say a group of gunmen, dressed in police uniforms, seized the employees in Port Harcourt.

The other kidnap victims were Dutch, Pakistani and another person whose nationality is not yet known.

More than 10 kidnappings of foreign oil workers in the past two weeks have been reported by local media, and more than 100 foreigners taken in six months.

About 30 people are still being held for ransom in the Niger Delta area.

No shots

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that one British person has been kidnapped from the Schlumberger Anadrill Field Compound in Port Harcourt."

Militants have been responsible kidnapping foreign oil workers

The Foreign Office was unable to say whether the Briton was male or female. No shots were fired in the kidnap.

Militants have waged a sabotage campaign, including the kidnapping of foreign oil workers, for more than a year in the under-developed Niger Delta, leading to a cut in oil production of more than 25%.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has says it is willing to stop its violent campaign only if Nigeria's new government frees its jailed kinsmen.

Newly sworn-in President Umaru Yar'Adua has said the crisis in the oil-rich region will be his priority and has called for a ceasefire.