The kidnappers of Nelson Williams, a retired army general and Deputy High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to Nigeria, are demanding a $40 million ransom, according to an AP report quoting Sierra Leone’s information minister and Nigerian workers at the embassy said.

Ambassador Williams was on his way to a military graduation in Kano State when he was kidnapped, Information Minister Mohamed Bangura announced from the capital, Freetown.

The report said: “The minister did not mention a ransom demand. But the embassy workers said the kidnappers almost immediately contacted the embassy to demand $40 million for Williams’ safe return.

“They said he was taken at gunpoint from his vehicle on the highway between Abuja, the capital in central Nigeria, and Kaduna city. Williams was traveling in convoy with an armed police escort, according to the workers, who insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to reporters.”

•Photo shows kidnapped Sierra Leonean envoy Nelson Williams.