Gunmen kidnap Israeli in Nigerian oil city

By Austin Ekeinde

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped an Israeli construction manager from his home in Nigeria's oil hub but the region's main militant group said on Wednesday it was not responsible and offered to help negotiate his release.

Four gunmen abducted the 60-year-old project manager, who works for Israeli construction firm Gilmor Engineering Limited, in the southern city of Port Harcourt late on Tuesday, and used his vehicle to make their getaway.

Rita Inoma-Abbey, spokeswoman for the Rivers state police, said the man's driver had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the abduction.

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta, the heart of the country's oil sector, since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main militant group whose campaign of sabotage has included bombing pipelines and kidnapping foreign oil workers, said it was not responsible.

"We may assist the Israeli government in locating and negotiating the release of the hostage if requested to do so through its ambassador," it said in an e-mailed statement.

An Israeli embassy spokesman said earlier the ambassador had travelled to Port Harcourt to meet authorities in the hope of resolving the situation quickly.

Insecurity in Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, has cut crude output by about one fifth since militants launched their campaign of violence two years ago to press for greater development in their neglected communities.