Kidnappers have freed two sports journalist who were being held for ransom in Nigeria, according to news reports.

Nick Greyling, a South African sound engineer, and Nigerian sports commentator Bowie Attamah, were abducted along with cameraman Alexander Effiong on 1 March while travelling to an airport in Owerri city near the Niger Delta region, an area notorious for kidnappings.

Gunmen stopped the bus carrying media professionals from the South African sports channel M-Net SuperSport as it travelled through Imo State. The kidnappers seized Greyling, Attamah and Effiong – who managed to escape his captors the next day.

Attamah was released on 5 March. The release of Greyling followed on 8 March, M-Net SuperSport spokeswoman Caroline Creasy confirmed in a statement Emailed to IPI.

“IPI is very pleased to hear that the journalists have been released,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “However, it is imperative that the perpetrators of this abduction be identified and brought to justice. A culture of impunity emboldens the kidnappers and increases the likelihood that they, or others, will strike again.”

Following the abductions, IPI expressed concern in a statement about the journalists’ well-being and urged their captors to release them immediately.

Commenting on the kidnapping, IPI Board Member Hajiya Bilkisu Bintube, who is the editor of Citizen Communications, in Kaduna, Nigeria, said: “Journalists are only part of the Nigerian population. We have a democratic government in power but we haven’t yet imbibed democratic values. The issue is that we have a weak state which cannot provide for the security of the people. It’s poor governance that leads to insecurity, instability and violence.

She added: “You cannot rely on those who cannot protect you.”