Abuja, Nigeria - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan Monday ordered the country's security agencies to 'take all necessary action to locate and rescue' the foreign construction workers who were abducted from their camp by terrorists in northern Bauchi State Saturday.
'The President condemns the kidnapping of the workers and reaffirms the Federal Government’s total commitment to stamping out all forms of terrorism and criminal abduction in the country,' the presidency said in a statement obtained by PANA here.
'He assures the relatives of the kidnapped foreign workers as well as the governments of their countries that the Federal Government and its security agencies are doing everything possible to find their abductors and ensure the safe release of all those they abducted,' the statement said.
It said President Jonathan also commiserates with the family of the security guard who was killed in the attack.
According to the Bauchi State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Ladan, gunmen attacked the construction camp of the Lebanese-owned Setraco construction company in Jamaáre, killing one security guard and abducting seven foreign workers, including a Briton, a Greek, an Italian, two Lebanese and two Syrians.
On Monday, the Islamic group Ansaru, believed to be an offshoot of Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was because of the 'transgression and atrocities' against Muslims in Mali and other places.
The group, whose full name is Jama'Atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan (Vanguard for the protection of Muslims in Black nations), also claimed responsibility for attacking Nigerian troops who were preparing to leave for Mali, in which two soldiers died and five others were injured, in January, as well as the kidnap last December of a French Engineer in the northern state of Katsina
Boko Haram, which means Western education is forbidden, has killed over 3,000 people in gun and bomb attacks since launching its violent campaign to establish an Islamic State in Nigeria in 2009.
Pana 18/02/2013