Gunmen kidnapped two children on their way to school in Nigeria's main oil city of Port Harcourt, police said on Monday, the latest crime in a spree that has forced some residents to flee the city.
   

The two children, both below the age of 10, were taken from their car in central Port Harcourt early on Monday. It was not clear who were responsible for the kidnappings.
   

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta with hundreds of incidents reported each year.
   

Residents in Port Harcourt say violent crimes have become more common and blame it on former militants, who left the creeks of the Niger Delta in an amnesty offer that ended in October.
   

The University of Port Harcourt, one of Nigeria's top universities, was closed last week after lecturers and students said it was too dangerous to continue work since a rehabilitation facility for former rebel fighters was established near the campus.

Source: Reuters