Gunmen seize Nigerian chief's son

Militant attacks have cut Nigeria's oil production by 25%

Militants in Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta have seized the two-year-old son of a local chief, police say.

The son of Iriebe Chief Eze Francis Amadi was taken by gunmen as he was being driven to school, they say.

The kidnapping comes four days after a three-year-old British girl was freed from four days in captivity in a case which shocked many Nigerians.

Militants often take oil workers hostage as part of their campaign to keep more oil money in the Delta.

The kidnappings and attacks on oil facilities have cut Nigeria's oil output by about 25% over the past year.

Weapons surrender

Samuel Amadi was kidnapped by gunmen in two cars as he was on his way to school in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt, security sources have told the BBC.

The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in Port Harcourt says the attack was similar to that in which Margaret Hill was taken last week.

Nigeria's lawless oil capital

At least three children have been taken hostage in the past month in the Delta - a new phenomenon.

Earlier, seven hostages taken captive last week were released, officials say, while a prominent militant leader called for an end to all kidnapping.

The hostages - five foreigners and two top Nigerian managers - were released to officials in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt, police told the BBC.

The Nigerian hostages kidnapped last weekend were also handed to officials in oil capital, Port Harcourt.

Tom Ateke, who heads a militant group in the volatile Niger Delta creeks, says he wants armed groups in the region to surrender their weapons and work with the new government in Rivers State.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but most Niger Delta residents live in poverty - a situation the militants say is unfair.

But criminal gangs have also taken advantage of the lawlessness to kidnap oil workers for money.

More than 150 foreigners have been kidnapped in the volatile Niger Delta so far this year and about a dozen are still being held.

Hostages are usually released unharmed after ransom payments that Nigerian governments and oil companies involved always deny.