LAGOS — Kidnappers have boarded a ship off Nigeria and abducted seven crew members, including six Russians and one Estonian, in the latest such incident in the region, French company Bourbon said on Wednesday. “Bourbon confirms that seven crew members, six Russians and one Estonian, were kidnapped during the boarding of the Bourbon Liberty 249, which occurred on October 15, 2012 in Nigeria,” a statement from the oil industry servicing firm said. “The other nine crew members are still onboard the vessel which is heading for the Port of Onne. They are safe and sound, and in good health.” The statement did not give the location of the kidnapping, but Onne is located in the Niger Delta, the country's oil-producing region. The Bourbon Liberty 249 is an anchor handling vessel, the kind used to tow anchors for oil rigs or mobile drilling rigs. According to private security consultants Drum Cussac, the incident occurred some 40 nautical miles off Brass along Nigeria's southern coast. Scores of kidnappings for ransom have occurred in the Niger Delta, though a 2009 amnesty deal greatly reduced unrest there. Sporadic incidents continue to occur despite the amnesty. Most of the hostages have been freed after payment of a ransom. The company said it had set up an emergency unit aimed at the hostages' “rapid liberation.” 30 killed in village attack Police say that at least 30 people have been killed in an attack on a Christian village by Muslim herdsmen in central Nigeria. The attacks happened in Benue state, where the herdsmen burned a village of the Christian Tiv people. Benue police spokesman Daniel Ezeala said the attack occurred Sunday morning and blamed the killings on land disputes between the two groups. The Tiv represent one the largest of the minority ethnic groups in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people and more than 250 different ethnicities. The Tiv and the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen have previously fought over land in Benue. In December, authorities said fighting between the two groups displaced some 5,000 people in Benue. — Agencies
