JP Nadda urges Sushma Swaraj to ensure early release of Indian hostages in Nigeria

New Delhi: Union Minister J P Nadda on Monday urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure the early release of three men from Himachal Pradesh who had allegedly been kidnapped by Nigerian pirates.

Nadda also said the government was making "all possible efforts" to get the men back.

"I urged External Affairs Minister @SushmaSwaraj ji to ensure the early release of three young men of Himachal from the custody of Nigerian pirates," Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, said in a Tweet.

"Gov of India is making all possible efforts to bring them back as soon as possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," the Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh tweeted.

Former state chief minister and BJP leader Shanta Kumar had earlier written a letter to Swaraj, asking her to help in the early release of the three Merchant Navy men.

On March 12, the family of one of the men got a satellite call from Nigeria saying that a group of pirates from that country had hijacked their ship and kidnapped the three Indians.