A female senior officer of Nigeria Customs Service has been abducted by gunmen who trailed her to an eatery in a populated area in the southwestern state of Lagos, local officials said Thursday.

Comfort Alaba was in the company of her two daughters late Tuesday at the FESTAC Town in Lagos when the masked men stormed out of their car, seized her and drove off, said Uche Ejesieme, a spokesman of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Ejesieme said the customs' office had reported the incident to the authorities. The police in Lagos State said a manhunt has been launched.

In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, there is an increasing threat of abduction amid growing security challenges.

Individuals, including foreigners, kidnapped in the southern part of the country are usually released unharmed after a ransom is paid.

source: Xinhua