Five kidnapped Chinese telecom workers in Nigeria were released safely in Jan. 17 (local time), according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese government appreciates support and assistance of relevant parties in Nigeria, a press release from the Foreign Ministry said.

Unidentified armed men kidnapped five Chinese telecommunication workers in Rivers State of southern Nigeria.

China's party and state leaders attaches great importance to the incident and urged relevant departments to make utmost efforts in rescuing the five kidnapped workers, the press release said.

Chinese Ministries including the Foreign Ministry and Commerce Ministry as well as Chinese Embassy in Nigeria launched an emergency mechanism immediately to coordinate with relevant parties to carry out rescuing operation, it said.

Rivers State is an oil-rich region, where militant groups have attacked oil facilities and kidnapped oil workers since the beginning of the year 2006. This is the first time that Chinese workers were kidnapped.