REPORT: Islamist group claims kidnap of foreigners in Nigeria

An Islamist group linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Monday for the kidnapping of seven foreigners during a night time raid in a remote northern Nigerian town at the weekend.   

Gunmen killed a security guard and abducted a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers after storming the housing compound of Lebanese construction firm Setraco in Jama'are in Bauchi state late on Saturday.      

While the kidnappers declared that they have custody of seven people, diplomatic sources told LBCI that the Lebanese Embassy in Abuja was not informed that the Islamic group had claimed responsibility over the kidnap, adding that the Nigerian security authorities were also not informed of such news.                       

Conflicting reports emerged regarding the number of Lebanese nationals who were kidnapped, where sources confirm that four Lebanese were among the hostages, another source say that only two were held by the kidnapping group.       

On the other hand, the Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told LBCI that the abductors are seeking material profit, noting that the company Setraco was subject to a similar incident where the abductors released the hostages for a ransom.            

However, 24 hours have passed since the kidnap and the abductors have not yet called and asked for money, but instead, they issued a statement whereby they said that the kidnapping was "based on the transgression and atrocities done to the religion of Allah by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali.”                     

In this context, Lebanese charge d'affaires in Abuja Wassim Ibrahim is pursuing his contacts with Nigerian officials, in an attempt to solve this issue as soon as possible.           

At a time when the kidnappers have not yet announced their demands, the Lebanese community in Nigeria held a meeting on Monday morning, calling on the Nigerian authorities to take immediate action in this case.                

The families of the Lebanese workers who were kidnapped are currently in deep state of shock, refusing to speak to the media and keeping the information they have in extreme confidentiality.


REUTER/LBCI