The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine is looking into the circumstances over the incident in Nigeria, where on May 13 unidentified people hijacked in the southern part of the Niger River 11 crewmembers of an oilfield service vessel, including a Ukrainian citizen.
According to foreign media reports, the hijackers are demanding a ransom of USD 250,000 for liberation of the people.
This is not the first case of hostage-taking in the region. Thus, in 2007, pirate attacks on vessels off Nigeria grew 3.5 times on 2006, from 12 to 42. In all, 150 foreign citizens were captured in the country in 2007, most of whom were set free for ransom. Several captives were killed or injured.
