Britain, Italy, Greece Confirm Killing of Foreign Hostages

British Foreign Secretary, Mr. William Hague

• Security agencies deny rescue bid 
• Two hostages believed to have been ill

By Ike Abonyi, Damilola Oyedele, Senator Iroegbu, Paul Obi and Segun Awofadeji

As security agencies intensified the manhunt for members of a terrorist group Ansaru, an offshoot of Boko Haram, that claimed to have killed the seven hostages in its custody, Britain, Greece and Italy confirmed Sunday the death of their citizens who were among the abducted construction workers.

The terror group, which abducted the seven foreign construction workers from the Setraco Construction Company camp at Jama'are, Bauchi State, on February 16, said on Saturday that it had killed them.

The seven hostages from Britain, Greece, Italy and Lebanon were seized in a raid from a construction site belonging to Setraco. The raid also resulted in the death of a guard.

Ansaru said the hostages were killed because of a rescue attempt by British and Nigerian forces. But British officials said they were not aware of any such attempt.

The message from Ansaru included photographs purporting to show a gunman standing over at least one body, although these could not be verified.

Given the confusion arising from Ansaru’s claim, as there was no independent confirmation of the killing, the foreign governments launched investigations to ascertain the veracity of Ansaru’s claim.

The British Foreign Secretary, Mr. William Hague, confirmed what he said was the likely murder of the British national alongside six other foreigners by the Islamic militants.

He also offered Britain’s support to Nigeria to apprehend those behind the dastardly murder and to combat terrorism in Nigeria and the region.

According to a statement by the Political and Press Secretary of the British High Commission in Abuja, Mr. Hooman Nouruzi, the foreign secretary expressed condolences to the families of all the hostages.

The statement read:  “It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that a British construction worker, held hostage in Nigeria since 16 February, is likely to have been killed at the hands of his captors, along with six other foreign nationals who we believe were also tragically murdered. This was an act of cold-blooded murder, which I condemn in the strongest terms.

“My thoughts are with his family, and the families of the other hostages, who will be devastated by this tragic loss. I offer them our deep condolences at this terrible time, and know that the thoughts of people up and down our country will be with them. I ask the media to allow them time to come to terms with their loss in privacy.

“Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the terrorists. I am grateful to the Nigerian Government for their unstinting help and cooperation.

“We are utterly determined to work with them to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in Northern Nigeria and in the wider region.”

Although the British High Commission did not give the name of the British national who was killed alongside other foreign hostages, THISDAY was able to identify him as Mr. Brendan Vaughan while the name of the Italian hostage was Silvano Trevisan.

Efforts to get the names of the other hostages from their embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proved abortive.

A report by Associated Press (AP) quoted European diplomats as saying Sunday that the seven foreign hostages had been killed as claimed by the Islamic extremists.

It said Italy and Greece confirmed that their nationals were killed, while Lebanese authorities did not immediately comment.

“It’s an atrocious act of terrorism, against which the Italian government expresses its firmest condemnation, and which has no explanation, if not that of barbarous and blind violence,” a statement from Italy's foreign ministry read.

Italy also denied a claim by Ansaru that the hostages were killed before or during a military operation by Nigerian and British forces, saying there was “no military intervention aimed at freeing the hostages.”

Italian premier Mario Monti identified the slain Italian hostage as Silvano Trevisan and promised the Rome government will use “every effort” to stop the killers.

Hague also called the killings "an act of cold-blooded murder."

A statement from Greece's foreign ministry said authorities had already informed the hostage's family.

“We note that the terrorists never communicated or formulated demands to release the hostages,” the statement read, which also denied any military raid took place.

In an online statement Saturday claiming the killings, Ansaru said it killed the hostages in part due to local Nigerian journalists reporting on the arrival of British military aircraft in Bauchi.

However, the online statement from Ansaru cited local news articles that instead said the airplanes were spotted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The British Ministry of Defence said Sunday that the planes flew to Abuja to ferry Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali, to join the international military coalition in the Sahelian nation to dislodge Islamic extremists there. 

The UK has offered military support in the past in Nigeria to free hostages. In March 2012, its special forces backed a failed Nigerian military raid to free Christopher McManus, who had been abducted months earlier with Italian Franco Lamolinara from a home in Kebbi State. Both hostages were killed in that rescue attempt.

Despite the confirmation of the killing of the hostages, security operatives in Bauchi State said they were still investigating the allegations of the killing of the seven expatriates.

In an interview Sunday, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Hassan Mohammed Auyo, said: “The police have no evidence that the kidnapped expatriates were killed. We are still investigating the matter, we are also investigating the genuineness of the information pasted on the web site allegedly by the group.”

Security sources in Bauchi told reporters that they were making inquiries to ascertain the claim by the Islamic militants.

They also denied any attempt, as claimed by Ansaru, to free the hostages.

THISDAY learnt further that although there has been no official confirmation on the killing of the foreigners by the nation’s security agencies, nobody wants to take responsibility or be associated with any act that might have led to their death.

Responding to THISDAY’s enquiries, the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Col Mohammed Yeri said: “There is no update yet on the situation” and could not speak on it.

Yerima also denied any rescue attempt by Nigerian and British forces.

“There is apprehension about the whole thing and because of the significance and likely fallout of this execution of foreigners, if confirmed; nobody wants to admit that it happened under their watch,” a security analyst explained.
Information reaching THISDAY also showed that two of the hostages might have been ill. Sources from the security agencies said that the British national, Vaughan and his Italian colleague, Trevisan, suffered from hypertension and a heart condition respectively.

THISDAY learnt that security officials who had been working to secure the release of the hostages had attempted to send drugs to their captives but this was turned down by members of the Ansaru sect.