It was gathered that the company, however, is insisting that they are working on “other options” other than paying the ransom to the assailants.
The sea pirates, who abducted six workers of the Julius Berger Construction Company, near the Bonga Oil Field between Delta and Rivers states, have reduced their ransom from $1.5 million to N200 million, one of the affected families told SaharaReporters on Thursday.
It was gathered that the company, however, is insisting that they are working on “other options” other than paying the ransom to the assailants.
One of the affected family members who spoke with SaharaReporters said the health of one of the victims, who has now spent over a week with the abductors, was a concern to them as he was having high blood pressure.
“Yes, they called the Chief Security Officer of the company on Wednesday and brought down the ransom to N200 million. Yet, the company is not willing to make any commitment at all. They are just quiet about the incident and these workers have spent over a week with the kidnappers.
“If they were expatriates, would Julius Berger keep quiet for so long? One of the victims had down with high blood pressure before. Would this incident not worsen their health condition? The wife cannot eat. All the family members are more depressed daily. Something needs to be urgently done to rescue these workers,” he explained.
SaharaReporters had on Wednesday reported that the pirates attacked the captain of the tow barge, and abducted him alongside the six workers.
The abductors had reached out to the company to demand $1.5 million as ransom for the workers.
It was said that the incident happened last Monday when the workers were moving from Warri to the Bonny Island en route to the Bonga Oil Field on the Atlantic Ocean.
Another relative of one of the victims had told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that over a week into the kidnapping, the company seemed to be trivialising the abduction of the Nigerian citizens and had yet to make a statement on the incident.
“I have a brother among those who were kidnapped. There was a captain and six other Julius Berger workers. The kidnappers after seven days contacted the construction company demanding $1.5 million.
“The company seems to be taking the ordeal of the Nigerian workers with levity as the victims continue to suffer in the den of the sea pirates. My bother and other workers were going from Warri to Bonny Island en route to the Bonga Oil Field when the incident happened last Monday,” he had stated.