Nigerian kidnappers free 3-year-old British girl

ABUJA, July 8 (Reuters) Nigerian kidnappers today released a 3-year-old British girl they had seized in the southern city of Port Harcourt, authorities said.

Unknown gunmen had snatched Margaret Hill from the car in which she was being driven to school while it was stuck in traffic on Thursday morning.

''We can confirm that she has been released back to her parents. She is fit and well,'' said an official at the British High Commission in Abuja.

No further details were immediately available.

The girl's mother said on Friday the kidnappers had called her, first demanding a swap between the daughter and the father, and later demanding a ransom. The amount demanded was unclear.

The kidnappers had threatened to kill the girl.

The High Commission official said he did not know whether a ransom had been paid.

Abductions for ransom are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where Port Harcourt is located, although it is rare for children to be targeted.

The abduction of the toddler caused outrage in Nigeria, including among militant groups in the Niger Delta who said it undermined their campaign for greater local control of oil revenues.

Reuters SZ SBA VP0332