Saudi captive in Nigeria freed without ransom

Nigerian police freed a Saudi businessman who was kidnapped at Abuja airport on Sunday for a $150 million ransom, newspapers said on Sunday.

“He has been freed and will be flown to Riyadh soon,” said Osama Naqli, information director at the Saudi foreign ministry.

“Nigerian police had succeeded in locating his whereabouts and freed him without paying ransom,” he told the Saudi daily Sabq.

Unknown men kidnapped Hamdan bin Tawalah Al Shammari just as he arrived in the African country and were demanding $150 million ransom to release him.

Before flying from Saudi Arabia, Shammari had contacted his own captors and asked them to wait for him at the airport on Sunday to do business together as he had not known they belong to a gang seeking to kidnap him for ransom.

“After they received him, they took him in their car and headed for an unknown destination,” the Ambassador said.

Okaz newspaper quoted the captive’s brother, Mohammed bin Tawalah Al Shammari, as saying on Saturday he had been in touch with his brother, who told him the captors are demanding $150 million to free their captive.

According to Sabq, Tawalah was a victim of scam e mail messages sent by his kidnappers who posed as businessmen prompting profitable projects.