Carroll County man released by captors

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Carroll County man kidnapped in Nigeria has been released, a family member confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday.

The family member told the AJC that William Gregory "Greg" Ock is in a safe location and that he appeared to be OK during a phone call to family. Ock, 50, of Bowdon, was working on a power plant job for the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria told The Associated Press that a captive had been released but refused to offer any more details.

Police previously said the attack happened in Warri, the capital of Delta state. The police said the assailants trailed the man to a bank and waited outside before kidnapping him.

The attack occurred in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, where foreign firms have pumped oil out of the country for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.