Amin Dreik returns to his family after 3-month abduction in Nigeria

Lebanese citizen Amin Dreik left his country and headed for Nigeria 4 years ago to work at “Mother Cat” company, on a project for water treatment. He never expected that on May 7, 2012, he will be a victim of an armed ambush, where his colleague, Fadi Ibrahim, was killed, while he was taken as a hostage by an Islamist group close to “Boko Haram”.        

During the first ten days of his abduction, Amin remained in a house close to the region where he was kidnapped, and then he was transferred to the forests. For three months, Amin’s family did not receive any news about him, nor did his boss at work.    

In an interview with LBCI, Amin stressed that he did not know the requests of the kidnappers, noting that in the first days of August, he was informed of his release.          

Amin was released on the seventh of August and left near a gas station in the city of Buruku, at 9:30 in the evening.            

He returned to his home in Anfeh on Sunday August 12, where he discovered that some people tried to take advantage of his family during his absence.                     

For his part, the director of the project in the company where Amin works, Amin Georges Saliba told LBCI that, throughout the abduction period, Amin’s colleagues suspended the work in the project to make sure he will return safely. He noted that the Lebanese nationals are not targeted in Nigeria, but the tense situation is affecting the residents of the African state’s north.