An Indian principal of a school in Nigeria's restive southern delta region has been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen who sped off with her after killing her driver and a police escort.
Lakshmi Tombush, principal of Mobil Pegasus Schools in Akwa Ibom State, was kidnapped on Wednesday morning but the kidnappers are yet to establish contact with her family or demand ransom, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The school she works for, sponsored by the oil firm ExxonMobil, is in a poverty-stricken region where militants are running a campaign against foreign companies demanding a better distribution of oil revenue.
The gunmen blocked the principal's car in Eket and abducted her after killing her police escort and her driver, leaving their bodies in the vehicle.
Akwa Ibom State Police Command spokesman ASP Onyeka Orji was quoted as saying by the agency that police was already on the trail of the kidnappers and that investigation was in progress.
Scores of kidnappings have occurred in the troubled oil-rich region in recent years. A school bus with 15 children was hijacked last month in the region. The children were rescued after a police operation.
The Pegasus Schools are funded by Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) for staff children.
