BREAKING NEWS!! BRITISH, ITALIAN HOSTAGES KILLED IN NIGERIA BY BOKO HARAM

Written by Tunde | March 9, 2012 | 1

(AFP) A British and an Italian hostage killed on Thursday were murdered by “their Boko Haram captors” and those responsible have been arrested, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement.
Jonathan “condemned the killing of two kidnapped foreigners — an Italian and a British citizen — in Sokoto state Thursday by their Boko Haram captors before they could be rescued by a joint British-Nigerian security raid on the kidnappers’ hideout,” a statement from his office said.

The statement added: “The president, who particularly commended the cooperation and understanding of the British and Italian governments, assured that the perpetrators of the murderous act, who have all been arrested, would be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

The men were kidnapped by heavily armed men who stormed their apartment in the city of Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi state in northwest Nigeria, near the Niger border.

Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara, the two men killed, were captured last May in the city of Birnin Kebbi, in northwest Nigeria. They had been working on a bank construction project.

David Cameron, the British prime minister, said he had given the go-ahead for the joint Nigerian and British rescue operation after “credible information” had been received.

Both men were killed, however, before their rescuers could reach them.

“We are still awaiting confirmation of the details, but the early indications are clear that both men were murdered by their captors, before they could be rescued,” Cameron said.

He said the Nigerian authorities, with British support, had launched the attempt to rescue the men after “a window of opportunity arose to secure their release”.

“Preparations were made to mount an operation to attempt to rescue Chris and Franco. Together with the Nigerian government, today I authorised it to go ahead, with UK support,” he added.

“It is with great regret that I have to say that both Chris and Franco have lost their lives.”