Abducted SETRACO worker Lebanese, not Israeli

The Nigerian police in Edo state said the expatriate worker of SETRACO construction company kidnapped yesterday was not an Israeli but a Lebanese.

Gunmen had kidnapped the man from a construction site in Benin, where abductions for ransom occur frequently, authorities said on Tuesday.

According to police spokesman Moses Eguavoen: “The incident happened yesterday at about 10:00 am, and the police have commenced investigation.”

He said he could not confirm initial reports that at least one soldier guarding the workers had been wounded or killed. A military spokesman in Edo state could not be reached.

A Setraco spokesman identified the victim as Sani Youssef and said he was not aware of a ransom being demanded.

It was unclear who was behind the attack.

Ransom kidnappings occur regularly in southern Nigeria, with victims usually released unharmed after payments are made, unlike in the country’s north, where Islamist extremists have killed a number of their hostages.

In February, two Lebanese were abducted along with two Syrians, a Greek, an Italian and a Briton from another Setraco site in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi.

Islamist extremist group Ansaru later posted a video and a statement online announcing the hostages had been killed.