British citizens and several Turkish citizens have been kidnapped in Kenya

A Briton told the BBC that he and several Turkish citizens were kidnapped by masked men in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Friday, while four Turkish citizens are still missing.

Necdet Seyitoğlu, who lived in the UK for 18 years before moving to Kenya two years ago, said he was freed after eight hours when he showed his kidnappers a copy of his British passport.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said they were “providing consular assistance to a British man and his family following an incident in Kenya”.

Kenyan police told the BBC they were investigating a “kidnapping incident” after a motorcyclist witnessed the abduction.

According to the report, two cars were blocked in front and behind a silver sedan with two passengers.

“Approximately eight people armed with weapons got out of two cars, took out the two people inside” and left with them, said Kenyan police spokesperson Resila Onyango.

“Later, one Yusuf Kar, of British origin of Turkish origin” reported to a nearby police station and identified the kidnapped men as Hüseyin Yeşilsu and Necdet Seyitoğlu.

Turkish authorities have not yet commented on the incident.

Mr. Seyitoğlu, an education consultant, gave more details of what he said happened during his abduction, which differed from the police account.

He described a white SUV that blocked his car when he left home to go to work with his friend at 07:30 local time (04:30 GMT).

The two were blindfolded and handcuffed by four armed men before being taken to an unknown location, he said.

He said repeated requests about what happened were not answered.

“We asked them, can you show your ID? Where are we going? But we didn’t get an explanation,” said the 49-year-old.

“It was the worst experience of my life,” said Mr. Seyitoğlu.

He said he was finally able to convince the suspected kidnappers that he was a British citizen by showing them a copy of his passport on the phone.

After taking the photo, the men received a phone call that sounded like an order to release him, he said.

The masked men, who Mr Seyitoğlu said spoke Swahili, dropped him off at an unfamiliar location and offered him 1,000 shillings ($7.50; £6) to return home, but refused to return his phone and laptop.

At this time, Mr. Seyitoğlu said that his wife reported him missing, and then reported it to the British High Commission.

Mr Seyitoğlu said that six other people he knew – all of them Turkish citizens – were also kidnapped in the same way in different parts of Nairobi.

The local law firm, Mukele & Kakai, said in a statement that it was acting on behalf of the four men who were registered refugees and warned the airlines against allowing them to be brought on board.

“Our clients were abducted from Kenya with the intention of being extradited to Turkey where they are victims of political persecution,” said the lawyer’s letter, seen by the BBC.

This was echoed by the campaign organization Amnesty International, whose spokesperson in Kenya said that it was “deeply concerned by the reports that seven Turkish asylum seekers have been kidnapped in Kenya”.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, told the BBC it was “aware of the reports and will provide more details once we receive them”.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty