Filipino sailors kidnapped in Nigeria freed

Manila: Five Filipino sailors kidnapped in Nigeria's Niger Delta have been released by their captors, an official said on Monday.

The five were kidnapped at gunpoint on October 4 onboard the MV Aveiro ship.

Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the sailors are "well and unharmed".

"They are now in the care of the team from the Philippine embassy in Abuja dispatched to secure their safe release," Conejos said in a statement.

"The Philippine government expresses its gratitude to the Nigerian government for the speedy resolution of this case," he said, without elaborating on how the five were freed.