Until the killing of the hostages, revealed yesterday by British Prime Minister, David Cameron, the authorities in Nigeria and the UK, had kept the kidnap of the victims, which reportedly occurred on May 12 last year, top secret.
The victims were Chris McManus from Northwest, England and Franco Lamolinara, an Italian.
The Nigerian and British governments yesterday condemned the killing of the two engineers, who were working with a construction firm in Birnin Kebbi and condoled with their families.
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who spoke on the incident yesterday, explained that the two men were killed by gunmen in Birnin Kebbi during a failed attempt by Nigerian and British forces to rescue them.
Both men had been working for Stabilini Visinomi, an Italian construction firm, when they were kidnapped from their abode in Birnin Kebbi.
In a reaction last night, President Goodluck Jonathan described their death as "sad, unfortunate and regrettable."
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President "extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the bereaved and the people and government of Britain and Italy."
Jonathan, who particularly acknowledged the co-operation and understanding of the British and Italian governments, assured that the perpetrators of the murderous act, who have all been arrested, would face the full wrath of the law.
The President also assured that the government would take necessary steps to protect foreigners in the country.
Although the British Foreign Office was believed to have been working behind the scene to secure their release since then, Cameron affirmed that a window of opportunity to free them had arisen after receiving "credible information about the (men's) location." Nigerian forces, supported by their British counterparts, subsequently went into action, he said.
Cameron said it was "with great regret" that he had to announce that both men had lost their lives in the subsequent operation. He noted that the families of the victims "have endured a terrible ordeal and this is a devastating moment for all of them."
He thanked the Nigerian authorities and Jonathan for their efforts to find the abducted men and combat terrorism.
He said: "I also want to pay tribute to all those, including United Kingdom (UK) personnel, who worked so hard to try to bring Chris home safely. I am very sorry that this ended so tragically. Terrorism and appalling crimes, such as these, are scourge on our world."
The full text of Cameron's statement reads: "The effort to free Chris McManus from the North West of England, and an Italian, being taken hostage, was launched by Nigerian forces with the assistance of the UK.
''Chris McManus, a British citizen, was taken hostage by terrorists in northern Nigeria in May 2011. He was taken hostage with his colleague, an Italian national, Franco Lamolinara.
No comments:
Post a Comment