Nigerian president appeals to kidnappers

The president of Nigeria has appealed to kidnappers who snatched a three-year-old British girl to release her immediately.

President Umaru Yar'Adua, who is taking a personal interest in the case, vowed the child would be released unharmed.

The president "has directed the security agencies to make every possible effort to ensure that she is returned to her family unharmed and he remains in touch with all efforts being made to secure the girl's release," he said in a statement.

Margaret Hill was snatched on Thursday morning as she travelled to school by car in Port Harcourt, in the south of the country.

Her mother Oluchi Hill received a call from the kidnappers hours later saying they would kill the girl unless her father, Mike Hill, agreed to swap places with his daughter but police advised against the move.

Mrs Hill said: "They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby. He wanted to go down for his baby but the police commander told him not to."

Mrs Hill, a Nigerian national, said the kidnappers then called a second time and threatened to kill her daughter, herself and Mr Hill if their demands were not met.

Still dressed in her night-clothes, a sobbing Mrs Hill, told reporters through the gates of the family compound in Port Harcourt that Margaret was being fed on bread and water.

Mr Hill has lived in Nigeria for ten years and is originally from Murton in Co Durham. He works for US oil-supply firm Lone Star while his wife runs a bar in Port Harcourt called Goodfellas.

In a statement released through the Foreign Office, Margaret's parents asked for some privacy.

It said: "You are well aware of the effects that this terrible situation will be having on us as a family. Everybody is trying to help us get our daughter back. We are very grateful for their support and ask the media to please leave us to work with others to try and bring our daughter home safely and quickly."

Kidnappings have become an almost weekly occurrence in the south of the country, where many foreign oil workers are based and over a dozen foreigners are currently in captivity with more than 200 taken since the end of 2005.

Hostages are generally released unharmed after a ransom is paid - often by governments that control huge, unregulated security slush funds.

But despite the increasing kidnappings, the targeting of women and children is uncommon, with attackers generally focusing on male employees of large oil companies.

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