Four Chinese rail workers kidnapped last week in southwest Nigeria have been released, police said Tuesday.

The four were abducted on Wednesday from a rail construction site at Alaagba village in Ogun state by unknown gunmen who also killed their police escort.

The Chinese were working on a $2.5 billion, 157-kilometre (98-mile) standard gauge project between Lagos and Ibadan commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari two weeks ago

"The four Chinese nationals were released yesterday," a senior police officer in Ogun state told AFP, without giving details.

He did not say if a ransom was paid.

Local media reported that an undisclosed amount of money was paid for the release.

State police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi was not immediately available for comment.

Chinese firms are working in Nigeria on multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects that include mining, railways, airports and roads.

Kidnapping for ransom used to be concentrated in Nigeria's oil-producing southern region, but the crime has lately spread to other parts of the country.

Victims are usually released after a ransom is paid although police rarely confirm if money changes hands.

In April, two Chinese workers were abducted and their private security guards shot at a mining site in southwest Osun state. They were released four days later.

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