A British national has revealed that he and several Turkish citizens were abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, by masked men on Friday, with four of the Turkish citizens still missing.
Necdet Seyitoğlu, a Turkish-origin British man who moved to Kenya two years ago after living in the UK for 18 years, said he was released after eight hours upon showing his British passport to the kidnappers.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed that they are providing consular assistance to Seyitoğlu and his family. Meanwhile, Kenyan authorities are investigating the kidnapping, which was witnessed by a motorcycle driver.
According to police reports, two vehicles blocked a silver saloon car carrying two occupants from the front and rear. About eight armed men emerged from the vehicles, forcibly removed the occupants, and drove away with them. One of the victims, Seyitoğlu, was later able to report the incident to the police after his release.
Seyitoğlu, an education consultant, provided more details about the ordeal. He described being intercepted by a white SUV at 07:30 local time (04:30 GMT) while leaving home for work with a friend. The pair were blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken to an unknown location by four armed men. Seyitoğlu said that repeated inquiries about their fate went unanswered.
The Turkish government has yet to comment on the abduction, and Kenyan authorities are still searching for the missing Turkish citizens.