A Co Galway man who was among four foreign oil workers kidnapped last night in Nigeria was only in the country 36 hours, according to his brother.
Brian Fogarty, who works for US oil services company Halliburton, was seized from a bar in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt just before midnight last night, by armed men, police said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish embassy in Abuja are liaising with Nigerian authorities.
Mr Fogarty's brother, Paul, this morning told RTÉ Radio that the family was receiving adequate help from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the embassy.
"They have been very helpful to us and are keeping in contact as much as they can," he said. Mr Fogarty added that his family drew encouragement from the recent release of three Filipino workers.
Mr Fogarty's father, who also worked in the oil industry, was kidnapped and released after 15 hours in Yemen, some years ago.
British citizen John Guyan was also kidnapped. There are no details on the two other victims.
The kidnappers, who wore army uniforms, shot sporadically as they stormed the bar in three vehicles, which they abandoned, and escaped in a waiting speedboat after security forces engaged them in a fierce gun battle, police said.
The wave of kidnappings coincides with an upsurge in militant attacks against the oil industry, which has cut oil production by 25 per cent in the world's eighth-largest exporter since February.