Lagos, Feb 9 (IANS): As many as two people were killed when a group of gunmen attacked the convoy of a businessman in south Nigeria's Edo state, police said on Wednesday.

Kontongs Bello, the police spokesperson in Edo, said that the victims were drivers attached to the chairman of a petroleum marketers association in the state, Abdul-Hamid Egele, who was abducted by the gunmen after the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.

The gunmen intercepted Egele's motorcade near the town of Jattu of the state on Monday evening, killing the driver of the car Egele was using on the spot, and wounding a security guard and another driver of the motorcade, said Bello.

He said the second driver, who was driving Egele's backup car, died later because of the serious bullet injuries he suffered during the attack.

The police spokesperson said the police had begun a rescue operation in the area.

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in the most populous African country, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months.