PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Thieves have kidnapped the two-year-old daughter of a Nigerian oil worker and demanded a ransom after they were disappointed with their haul of loot from the family's house, police said on Thursday. Hostage taking has become increasingly common in Port Harcourt, the largest city in the oil producing Niger Delta, but until recently was targeted mostly against foreign oil workers. "The young men came to rob the occupants of the building. Apparently the money was not enough so they went away with the child to ask for more money," said Ireju Barasua, a spokeswoman for police in city. A security consultant working with an oil company said the father of the child was employed by Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and he had received a ransom demand of 5 million naira ($39,680). A Shell spokesman declined to comment. Violence in the region surged in early 2006 when militants demanding control over the delta's oil wealth staged a series of kidnappings and attacks, reducing oil output by a fifth. But the line between militancy and crime has been blurred by an explosion in armed robbery, gang violence and kidnapping for ransom. More than 200 foreign oil workers have been abducted over the past two years, and almost all were released unharmed in exchange for money. As the oil industry strengthens its security for employees, gangs have turned to softer targets including elderly grandparents and children of the rich. Shell and other big foreign companies have evacuated thousands of expatriate staff and family members from the southern wetlands region because of the growing insecurity. Since taking office in May, President Umaru Yar'Adua has engaged the militants in talks on their demands and the attacks have subsided. But the crime wave persists and many companies are still reluctant to send staff to the region.
