The Foreign Office is investigating reports that a Briton has been kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria. The victim was reportedly a former employee of the Indo Rama petrochemicals firm and was seized by a five-strong gang. More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped by militants in the Niger Delta, the heart of the country's oil industry, since 2006. Almost all have been released but rebel action has disrupted oil supplies. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Details are not known at the moment but we are urgently investigating the matter." The incident came as trouble escalated in the oil-rich West African country. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta claimed to have blown up a pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell, while security forces were said to have held off an armed attack on a Chevron Corporation oil platform. Gun battles along the region's rivers and creeks have left at least nine militants and several members of the armed forces dead, along with some civilians. Source: BBC