LAGOS (AFP) - Gunmen have kidnapped two Chinese nationals on a road to Nigeria's capital Abuja, police said on Sunday (Aug 7).

Nasarawa state police spokesman Ismail Noman told AFP the foreigners were ambushed on Saturday in the village of Agada on their way to Abuja.

"The Chinese nationals were abducted around 2:30 pm yesterday (Saturday) on their way to Abuja and taken to an unknown location," he said, adding a manhunt has been launched.

They were said to be working for a company handling construction projects in the area.

Chinese embassy officials in Nigeria were not immediately available for comment.

Kidnapping targeting prominent Nigerians and and foreigners, especially in the oil-producing south was rife in the 2000s until a 2009 government amnesty reduced unrest in the region.