Egypt is closely monitoring developments regarding the kidnapped Egyptian engineer for oil service in Nigeria, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Saturday.
Nigerian kidnappers abducted Mohamed Shaaban early Friday from a ship off the coast of Niger Delta after controlling the vessel for several hours before departing, the Nigerian military said Friday.
The Nigerian vessel, named Melody and contracted by Italian energy company Agip for offshore oil development, was attacked by robbers on Thursday afternoon.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Mohamed Abdel Hakam said that Egypt is closely monitoring the case and following up the efforts undertaken by the Nigerian authorities to release the Egyptian engineer.
Until now the whereabouts of the Egyptian is unclear and there is no details on whether the kidnappers demanded a ransom.