Two Britons were abducted from a nightclub in Nigeria at the weekend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday.
The pair, who have not been named, were among five foreigners kidnapped from the Goodfellas club in Port Harcourt on Sunday night as gun battles broke out throughout the southern city.
Their kidnappers have not been identified and no arrests have been made, Nigerian state police said.
George Ani, a driver in Port Harcourt, said he saw more than ten people go into the Goodfellas club and drag away a group of foreigners. He went on: "They were shooting and everyone started screaming. They took some expatriates but I don't know how many. I lay on the floor of my car until it was finished."
Mr Ani said the nightclub attackers were wearing military uniforms and did not cover their faces. He did not see anyone injured in the raid.
Witnesses said they heard gunshots in at least three neighbourhoods of Port Harcourt last night.
A man living in the area, who asked not to named for fear of reprisal, said he heard more than 100 shots in 15 minutes. An FCO spokes-woman said: "We can confirm that a group of five foreign nationals, including two British nationals, was abducted from a bar in Port Harcourt.
"We are in touch with the Nigerian authorities, and the companies the men work for will be in touch with their families. With kidnaps in Nigeria, often it is the individuals' companies who have a plan for this type of thing.
"But obviously we have experience in this area too. Our consular officials stand ready to offer any support they can."
Foreign workers in Nigeria have had their movements restricted following a series of abductions in the country's oil-rich south-eastern delta over the last week.
Nigerian police spokes-woman Irejua Barasua said one of the two Britons was working for US drill bit manufacturer Smith Bits, based in Houston, Texas.
