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  • Prosecution of Briton, others for treason in order, say U.S. Mayor, ex-British envoy

    Prosecution of Briton, others for treason in order, say U.S. Mayor, ex-British envoy

    A former British diplomat, Mr David Roberts, and a United States Mayor, Mr Mike Arnold, have backed the Federal Government’s move to prosecute British Andrew Wynne, and 12 Nigerians for treason.

    Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, on Monday filed a treason suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a six-count charge against the suspects.

    He accused them of attempting to destabilise the country, intimidate the President, and destruction of the National Communication Commission (NCC) Centre in Kano, among other things.

    He said they committed the offences between July 1 and August 4, 2024.

    Those charged are Micheal Adaramoye (aka Lenin); Adeyemi Ahayomi (aka Yomi); Suleiman Yakubu; Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo; Angel Innocent; Buhari Lawal; Mosiu Sadiq; Bashir Bello (aka Murtala); Nursdeen Khamis; Abdulsalam Zubairu; Andrew Wynne (aka Andrew Povich); Lucky Obryan; and Comrade Musa Abdollahi.

    In separate statements yesterday, the former British diplomat and the Mayor of Blanco said the Briton had no immunity against prosecution and was liable to punishment for infringing on Nigerian laws.

    They condemned the flying of the Russian flag by protesters during the cost-of-living protest in August, saying it was an insult to the sovereignty of Nigeria.

    “It is wrong and provocative for any foreigner, UK national or not, to be involved in destabilising a nation like Nigeria, with close links to Nigeria, especially after we had to deal with our protests last month,” Roberts, a former director of British Council in Nigeria, said.

    He added, “If a British national is involved, it gives Nigeria’s closest friend, the United Kingdom, a bad name. In such circumstances, the best thing to do is for the persons involved to come out of hiding and clear their names if, indeed, they are innocent.

    “The United Kingdom has just come out of a nasty experience with intolerants attempting to destabilise our country in the name of anti-immigration protests.

    “So, I am empathetic to Nigeria’s situation, with protests supposedly about hardship becoming a platform to instigate regime change.”

    Read Also: Briton, others face arrest for alleged terrorism, ‘mutiny’

    Mayor of Blanco, Texas, said that while he would encourage President Bola Tinubu to uphold the tenets of democracy and free speech, he would not support any inflammatory activity under the guise of freedom of expression.

    He stated, “I believe deeply in the freedom of speech and the right to assemble and protest peacefully. That said, I stand entirely with the Nigerian government in preserving democracy.

    “Any foreigner involved in politicising the so-called Days of Rage protests has run afoul of the laws of Nigeria and violated their visa status. They should turn themselves in. Russian flags showed that, in some instances, otherwise peaceful and law-abiding protests were twisted into an insurrection against democracy, which cannot be tolerated.”

  • Briton, others face arrest for alleged terrorism, ‘mutiny’

    Briton, others face arrest for alleged terrorism, ‘mutiny’

    •Blogger Pidom remanded over alleged money laundering, others

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued warrant of arrest against a Briton, Andrew Martin Wynne (aka Andrew Povich), and his alleged Nigerian accomplices – Lucky Ehis Obiyan and Abdullahi Musa – for their alleged complicity in terrorism and related criminal activities.

    Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order for their arrest yesterday while ruling on an application filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

    Justice Nwite also issued an order declaring them wanted, following claim by the applicant that the suspects were on the run.

    Lawyer the IGP, Audu Garba, who moved the application, said the orders were required for security agencies to arrest the alleged fleeing suspects.

    Audu said the suspects were allegedly involved in conspiracy, treason, inciting to mutiny, inciting disaffection to government, terrorism, among others, contrary to sections 97, 410, 413, 416 and 412 of the Penal Code Northern States Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.

    In a supporting affidavit, the applicant stated that investigation so far revealed that the fleeing defendants were allegedly responsible for planning and coordinating the invasion and burning down of a High Court complex, a police station in Nyanya, Abuja, complexes in Kano, Kano Printing Press, attacked on Government House in Kano, Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency’s office, NURTW’s office and several other buildings last month.

    Read Also: 34 worshippers killed in Yobe community

    The applicant averred that other alleged accomplices, currently on the run, were being tracked for arrest, hence the need for the application.

    “That the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the fleeing defendants, who are now on the run, will be possible if this honourable court issues a warrant of arrest for their apprehension and to declare them wanted,” the application stated.

    Justice Nwite also ordered the remand of a blogger and self-acclaimed whistleblower, Isaac Bristol Tamunobifiri (Pidom), at the Kuje Prison in Abuja

    The judge issued the order after Tamunobifiri was arraigned on a nine-count charge brought against him by the IGP.

    He was accused, among others, of engaging in money laundering, cybercrime, unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified secret documents.

    The accused pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, applied for bail.

    Justice Nwite adjourned till September 23 for ruling.

    Tamunobifiri is, among others, accused of mobilising and soliciting aid to compel government to act or abstain from certain acts through #EndBadGovernance protest,  money laundering allegations against the President Bola Tinubu…’’

  • Alleged $9.6b P&ID scam: Court  adjourns suit against fleeing Briton, firms

    Alleged $9.6b P&ID scam: Court  adjourns suit against fleeing Briton, firms

    A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday adjourned two separate money laundering suits filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a British national, James Nolan, and two other companies for judgment.

    Justice Donatus Okorowo adjourned the suits for judgment after counsel to the EFCC, Bala Sanga, and the defence lawyer, Michael Ajara, adopted their final written addresses and made their submissions in the matters.

    Ajara prayed the court to dismiss the two suits for lack of jurisdiction, insisting that the court lacked jurisdiction because the charges were defective.

    Read Also: Tinubu can govern the country from anywhere – Bwala

    The lawyer said all the evidence by the anti-graft agency through its witnesses were hearsay.

    But Sanga disagreed with Ajara, arguing that under Section 220 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the irregularity of a charge does not affect the jurisdiction of the court and neither does it affect the validity of the charge.

    The lawyer averred that Ajara’s objection was belated as this should have been raised during arraignment.

    Sanga also argued that the matter could not be caught up by hearsay rules because the documents obtained by the prosecution’s investigating officers were visible in evidence.

    The lawyer submitted that the knowledge derived from day-to-day work cannot be described as hearsay.

    He prayed the court to convict the defendants and order the forfeiture of the companies’ assets to the Federal Government.

    After listening to the arguments, which lasted till evening, Justice Okorowo adjourned the matters for judgment.

    The judge said the judgment date would be communicated to parties in the suits.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had, on April 14, fixed yesterday for adoption of the final addresses after Nolan, who jumped bail and fled Nigeria in the alleged $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited scandal, opened his defence in absentia without calling any witness.

    Ajara had told the judge that he did not intend to call any witness upon resumed hearing.

    The lawyer said after his evaluation of the EFCC’s evidence, he would rely on the case of the prosecution.

    Sanga did not object, and the matter was fixed for adoption of written addresses.

    NAN also reports that the EFCC is prosecuting Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited and Nolan as the first and second defendants in the case.

    Also, the EFCC is prosecuting the sister case filed against Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Limited, another company, and Corrado Fantoli as first and second defendants before Justice Okorowo.

    Fantoli, also a foreigner and an associate of Nolan, was one of the suspects behind the alleged $9.6 billion P&ID fraud.

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  • Briton killed in Kajuru, say police

    THE Police Command in Kaduna State has identified the expatriate killed by suspected kidnappers in Kajuru as Miss Faye Mooney, a Briton.

    Its Public Relation Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Kaduna, said Mooney was among the two people killed and three kidnapped on April 19 at a recreational resort in Kajuru Local Government Area by suspected kidnappers.

    Sabo said Mooney was a staff of Mercy Corps Nigeria.

    He added that the police were still on course to rescue the kidnapped victims and bring the perpetrators to book.

    On April 20, the command confirmed the killing of two persons and kidnap of three others at a recreational resort in Kajuru LGAs.

    ”At about 23:40hrs on Friday, some suspected kidnappers, armed with dangerous weapons, gained entry into a recreational resort called Kajuru Castle in Kajuru LGA.

    “The bandits shot sporadically and in the process shot dead two persons, including an expatriate lady and took away three others.”

    He added that patrol teams led by the DPO rushed to the scene and evacuated the victims to St. Gerald Hospital.

    Sabo said investigation revealed that the victims, along with 12 others, were tourists from Lagos, adding that the incident happened during the after party at the castle located at the Hill Top.

    “Normally, whenever such social events would happen, the organisers used to inform the police for security coverage, but the party was done without the knowledge of the police in the area as traditionally done.

    “However, intensive efforts are being made by the command to rescue the kidnapped persons, apprehend the fleeing culprits and bring them to justice.”

  • How John Abebe, Obasanjo’s in-law perpetrated $4m fraud

    Two foreigners, Mr Paul Piche,  a Norwegian and Ms Charlene Cross,  a Briton, on Tuesday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how  Mr John Abebe the brother of late Stella Obasanjo,  the former first lady of Nigeria allegedly forged documents to perpetuate  $4Million fraud.

    Abebe is facing  a four-count charge of forgery, fabricating evidence, using fabricated evidence and attempt to pervert the cause of justice before Justice Mojisola Dada.

    Abebe however denied the charges which were proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    During  proceedings,  Piche who was led in evidence by EFCC prosecuting counsel  Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, revealed to the court how the alleged forgery of a Net Profit Interest Agreement (NPIA) by Abebe was unravelled by Statoil Nigeria.

    According to him, Dr Abebe in 2010 tendered a copy of the amendment letter between themselves (Inducon) and BP Exploration dated 1995.

    He said Statoil made enquiries from BP Exploration  about the original amendment letter from 1995, which was provided to his company from BP Exploration.

    “When we made comparisons of the letter we received and the one that was tendered at the Federal High Court by Inducon and Dr Abebe we saw that there were a number of inconsistencies between the two versions,” he said.

    Piche who was shown the original and the allegedly forged NPIA document revealed the discrepancies in the two documents.

    He said; “Annexure two is the forged amendment letter tendered by Inducon and Annexure three is the genuine version of the amendment letter that we received.

    “In  Annexure three,  the paragraph for the $4Million dollar buyout for production of oil does not exist but it exist in Annexure two.

    He said: “In Annexure two the address of the National Westminster Bank which is in 2A Charing Cross Road is all on one line whereas if you look at Annexure three,  the same address is in two lines.

    “The postcode of the address of the of National Westminster is WCTUH0PE with a Zero while on the Annexure Two the postcode  is WCTHUHOPE with the letter O which is a wrong postcode.

    “In Annexure two at the parenthesis,  instead of i.e, capital L and a lower case e whereas in Annexure three,  in the parenthesis you will see a lower case i and a lower case e”.

    Piche also revealed to the court that the paragraphs of page two of the forged document were not justified compared to the original where all the paragraphs were justified.

    He informed the court that following the discovery,  Statoil petitioned the EFCC and laid a complaint December 14, 2016 at the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    He said they also petition the EFCC asking the agency to investigate the matter.
    “On December 14, 2016 we laid a complaint at the State House office of the Vice President because it was obvious to us that the amendment letter has been forged.

    “We sent copies of the letter to the Honourable Office of the Vice President as well as the Honourable Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation,” he said.

    Under cross-examination  by Mr E.D, Onyeke,  a member of Abebe’s defence team,  Piche admitted to have no knowledge of forensics.

    He said he has a Bsc in Economics  from the University of Warwick and a Masters degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.

    “I’m not a forensic document examiner,  I cannot tell the type of font used in the document,” he said.

    He admitted to the court that his company did not take any legal action on the alleged forgery until 2016 after judgments were given at Federal High Court and Court of Appeal in favour of Inducon,  Abebe’s company against Statoil.

    “I’m aware of the judgment against my company at the Court of Appeal on June 5, 2012 and I’m aware of my company’s appeal at the Supreme Court,” Piche said.

    Testifying, Ms Cross the second prosecution witness described herself as a legal practitioner and provided to the court her knowledge of the business contract.

    “I’m the in-house lawyer,  Assistant General Manager Dispute Resolution Projects and I’m a Solicitor working for BP Exploration on London. I manage all BP dispute globally with the exception of the U. S

    “I know Inducon Ltd and Statoil Nigeria Ltd,  I’m aware of rhe fact that there was a relationship between Inducon Ltd from 1990 to approximately 1992 onwards.

    “I’m aware that there were two aspects to the relationship, the first consisted of a consultancy agreement and the second consisted of a NPIA which was signed on Nov. 12, 1993.” She said.

    Cross told the court that the original NPIA signed by Inducon and  BP Exploration in 1993 was available because it was archived by BP over the years.

    “The original was contained in BP Archive System,  which is a very organised system in place which consists of documents finally executed and sent for safekeeping.

    “The NPIA was sent to the BP Archiving System on Nov. 16, 1993 and it shows on the upper sheer that the Records Managing Unit received this document for safekeeping.

    “There is a barcode in the document which identifies the BP Archive System,” she said.

    Cross told the court that alleged $4Million buy out option could not be inserted by BP into the NPIA.

    “It makes no sense whatsoever for BP to have inserted such language in the document,  in 1993, the NPIA makes clear that the buy-out option is in force as long as the 1993 NPIA is in force.

    “There is no reason for BP to have inserted this provision on this letter of intent at this stage. BP’s provision is that it never agreed to those wordings.

    “The statement that it applied to a pre-production stage of the buy-out is incorrect. I don’t know how the document was put together but this is not a BP document.

    “In the months prior to March 2018, BP was approached by the EFCC to ascertain the authencity of some documents and thus culminated in me writing a statement to the EFCC on March 26,” she said.

    Cross in her testimony,  also corroborated the evidence of Piche by describing details of the document that revealed the alleged forgery.

    On cross-examination by Onyeke,  Cross also admitted to not being a trained forensic document expert.
    She however ststed that she made her statement to the EFCC while in London.

    Earlier during the trial a member of Abebe’s defence team,  Mr Uche Nwokedi (SAN) through a Motion on Notice brought pursuant to Section 36 of the 1999 constitution sought to strike out the charge against Abebe b.

    Nwokedi said the allegations raised by the EFCC in the charges were  allegations which were previously  raised in suits at the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.

    Opposing the application, Oyedepo urged the court to strike out the application because it lacked merit.

    “There were two judgments at the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal,  however there were no pronouncements freeing the defendant from the allegations before the court,” Oyedepo said.

    In a ruling Justice Mojisola Dada dismissed the application of the defence.

    “Nothing can be gleaned by ousting the jurisdiction of this court, the application is hereby wanting and is hereby dismissed,” she said.

    According to  Oyedepo, Abebe committed the offence on June 22, 2010 in Lagos.

    “Abebe knowingly forged BP Exploration Nigeria Ltd’s letter dated Nov. 30,1995 to Inducon (Nigeria) Ltd.

    “He committed the forgery by inserting in page two of the said letter the following words: “Also note that the ‘Buy-Out Option’ only applies to the pre-production stage of the NPIA. The $4million buy-out is thus irrelevant from production of oil in any of our fields.

    “He purported same to have been issued by BP Exploration Nigeria Limited,” the EFCC prosecutor said.

    The prosecution claims that the defendant used the allegedly forged letter as evidence in suit No. FHC/L/CS/224/2010 between  Abebe, Inducon Nigeria Ltd and Statoil Nigeria Ltd. at the Federal High Court.

    According to the EFCC, the defendant through his actions attempted to pervert the course of justice.

    The offences violated Sections 120(1), 120(2), 126(2) of the Criminal Code Law of 2003.

    The case was adjourned till today for continuation of trial

  • Briton criticised for comments on Great Ife heritage in Italy

    Briton criticised for comments on Great Ife heritage in Italy

    A debate is ongoing over an Ile-Ife brass head, which internationally-acclaimed visual artist Damien Hirst has made a golden replica of and displayed at the 2017 edition of the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition in Italy.

    The controversy among art critics, artists and art lovers started when Nigerian artist Victor Ekupk posted the image of the original piece and that of the replica on his Facebook wall last week.

    Hirst wrote, “Stylistically similar to the celebrated works from the kingdom of Ife (which prospered c.1100 – 1400 CE in modern Nigeria), this head may be a copy of a terracotta or brass original. Extraordinarily, it is only a little over a century since the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius (1873 – 1938) was so surprised by the discovery of the Ife heads that he deduced that the lost island of Atlantis had sunk off the Nigerian coast, enabling descendants of the Greek survivors to make the skilfully executed works.”

    Hirst has been criticised by Nigerian artists and art scholars in the Diaspora and at home, for his demeaning statement about great Ife civilisation and for not giving credit to the Ile-Ife artist who produced the historic female head sculpture, dated 12th – 15th century. Also, he was bashed for not making reference to Nigeria, the country of origin of the piece.

    This, to Ekupk and other Nigerians, is an insult. Ekupk described Hirst as “a British merchant who parades himself as an artist and continues to make fools of the rich in the art world. It would be fine if he only sticks to tricking fools to part with their money. His slyly citing Leo Frobenius’ discredited account of the Greeks’ association with Ife bronze heads is an attempt to double down on a racist lie about African history and artistry.”

    Contemporary Nigerian artist, Mufu Onifade, who was part of the online debate, called Hirst a plagiarist. “To me, call it whatever you like – copy, influence, adaptation, appropriation, etc – this is absolute thievery! The thieving tendency is written all over the ‘stolen’ copy.”

    Plagiarism, Onifade said in academic circle, is equivalent to murder. “The same scholars who find funny terminologies for art plagiarism dare not do so with written works of other scholars. But they come into art and encourage thievery,” he said.

    According to artist, Chinwe Uwatse, what Hirst has done is rewriting history, “which we, by omission, sometimesoutright commission allow such Charlatans as Damien Hirst to perpetuate,” this to her is a plain disrespect to Nigerian cultural heritage.

    Another contemporary Nigerian artist in Diaspora, Godfrey Williams-Okorodus put it this way: “Hirst is a faker and a racist. The truth is that Damian is so frigging rich and thick skinned that this (criticism) will not bother him one bit.”

    What is Hirst seeking in making replica of the ancient Ife bronze cast, a well documented ancient heritage?

    Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition is an yearly art exhibition where artists across the globe are invited by the organisers to participate in the show for weeks. The 57th edition opened last Saturday.

    Four Nigerians: JeliliAtiku, Victor Ehikhamenor, Peju Alatise and Qudus Onikeku are participating in the big art event. This year made it the first time Nigerian artists are partaking in the show. Performance artist, Jelili Atiku, said he was representing himself at the show and the three others were representing Nigeria.

    On Wednesday, a pavilion was organised to host the works of these artists. The platform offered them an opportunity to re-establish their national pride and develop a more positive narrative for the country by showcasing the unique art and rich cultural heritage of Nigeria to the world. The presentation was done by the artists expands an understanding of Nigerian contemporary life through installations, painting, and performance.

     

    Who is Hirst?

    Damien Steven Hirst on born June 7, 1965 is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in the United Kingdom (UK) during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned,and is reportedly the Uk’s richest living artist, with his wealth valued at £215million in the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List.

    During the 1990s, his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi, but increasing frictions came to a head in 2003 and the relationship ended.

     

     

     

     

     

  • What a Briton said

    Flashback to March 2009 and the loud launch of a project tagged Rebranding Nigeria. At the event in Abuja, the then Information Minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili, unveiled a slogan that was appealing on paper:  ”Good People, Great Nation”. Akunyili said: ”Nigeria cannot wait until it solves all her problems before it can stand to give serious thought to rebranding its battered image. This is because our development is tied to our image. This negative perception has had destructive effects on our people and stymied our growth and national progress.”

    The cosmetic idea belonged to the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration, and the then Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, represented Yar’Adua on the occasion. Jonathan said: “Let us resolve that we would no longer be held ransom by the fraudsters that give Nigeria and all of us a bad name and image.”  On behalf of the members of the rebranding committee, Isawa Elaigwu said: “We are not happy with the Nigerian product we have now; hence we have decided to do something about it… All we hear in the past is that Nigeria is a fertile ground for credit fraud and all kinds of crime. We all can rebrand Nigeria. Once we continue to rebrand ourselves, then Nigeria can be rebranded.”

    Against this background, the news that a 70-year-old British pensioner, William Harding, appeared in an England court charged with using improper language against his former Nigerian employee, had branding and rebranding implications, especially given that the 2009 project is considered a failure.

    Harding was accused of making remarks that were “grossly offensive or of an obscene character” in his counter-claim sent electronically to a small claims court concerning a Nigerian whom he described as a “typical thieving Nigerian”. He was also accused of saying in a form he filled: “I don’t think God made a worse race than Nigerians. I’ve not come across an honest one yet.” It is noteworthy that a report said: “Harding pleaded not guilty to the offence, saying he did not intend to cause any offence and did not think the victim would have been offended by the remarks.”

    Quite apart from the anti-racism merit of Harding’s trial, which is expected to take place in September, the point is that Nigeria and Nigerians still suffer branding and rebranding problems. Recently, the pioneer secretary and former Chief Executive Officer, Rebranding Nigeria, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, reportedly blamed the project’s failure on inadequate funding. He was quoted as saying: “We agreed on a social mobilisation programme that would even affect and influence teachings from our primary schools, etc. It was a great programme. And it was structured to run over a long span, not some six months campaign. Is it still relevant? Of course, it will always be, for as long as we need to go through a social reengineering programme.”

    Although Harding’s sweeping generalisation betrays a racist narrow-mindedness, it is food for thought that the perception of Nigerians as being characteristically corrupt has travelled far and wide. Irrespective of how his trial is concluded, Harding’s point of view should help to further energise the anti-corruption campaign of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency.

  • Briton kidnapped in Lagos

    A British national was kidnapped in Nigeria this week shortly after leaving the international terminal of Lagos airport, the British High Commission (BHM) said on Friday.

    “The BHM is working closely with others to secure the release of the hostage. Because of the nature of this incident, the BHM is not going into further detail about it,” Reuters quoted the High Commission as saying in a statement

     

  • ‘Briton killed in Nigeria by kidnappers minutes after rescue mission began’

    ‘Briton killed in Nigeria by kidnappers minutes after rescue mission began’

    Inquest hears that British construction worker died from a single gunshot wound to the head on 8 March 2012, months after being kidnapped in Nigeria.

    A British construction worker was murdered by his kidnappers just minutes after a joint UK and Nigerian rescue operation stormed into the compound where he was held, an inquest has heard.

    Chris McManus, a quantity surveyor from Oldham, was shot six times in a toilet – both through the door and then from just outside it – as special forces tried to save his life, but they were under AK-47 fire from the kidnappers at the compound in the north-west Nigerian city of Sokoto.

    The hearing in Salisbury heard the soldiers stormed the building on 8 March last year after intelligence in previous days told them that McManus, 28, was there with fellow captive Franco Lamolinara from Italy, who also died during the rescue.

    The go-ahead for the operation had been given by Cobra, the government’s crisis committee, at 11.15am, just 45 minutes before it started, after a senior officer had reviewed the evidence amid fears for the men’s safety.

    The team, which included British special forces, had been sent to the area the previous day and burst through the compound’s front gates at midday local time on 8 March last year, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Grant Mallon said.

    The soldiers were soon under small arms fire; Mallon said the weapon was an AK-47 with its distinctive “crack” sound. The men killed at least one militant and then Mallon said they heard further shots with the same distinctive crack in the north-west area of the compound.

    “Muffled gunshots were heard by the team in sector one in the north-west corner of the compound. They were from a high calibre weapon. It seemed to them they were in a room and it was rapid shots.

    “Two insurgents were then seen leaving the compound from the north on a ladder at 12.04,” the policeman said.

    The soldiers then systematically went through the compound until they came to the north-west end of the compound and found some tarpaulin obscuring a building.

    The men saw single beds and a room with a barred window. They then went into another room with a single and double bed and saw a Manchester United football shirt similar to one McManus had been wearing in videos released by his captors in the months before his death.

    “They called out for Franco and Chris but received no reply,” Mallon said.

    “To the right there was a metal door to a toilet and they noticed there were bullet holes to it and the team noticed there were 7.62mm munitions and cases on the floor.

    “The door was partially open and when the soldiers looked inside they could see two white males on the floor and they immediately recognised them as Chris and Franco. Chris was lying to the left of the toilet. Both men had visible gunshot wounds. It appears they were killed fairly quickly into the engagement.”

    McManus was pronounced dead at 1.38pm local time by a doctor.

    A postmortem examination found that he died from a single gunshot wound to the head from a 7.62mm round that killed him almost instantly, the hearing was told. “Friendly fire” was ruled out because the rescue forces were using 5.56mm munitions.

    The men had been kidnapped in May 2011 and held for months before their killing, with three videos released showing they were alive – the last on 23 February 2012.

    The failed operation caused a diplomatic row between Britain and Italy after the Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, said it was “inexplicable” that Downing Street had not alerted Rome to the plan to rescue the men in advance. The foreign secretary, William Hague, insisted that that had been impossible.

    British officials at the time blamed a splinter wing of the Boko Haram sect for the abductions, but a sect spokesman denied the group’s involvement.

    McManus was working for the construction company B Stabilini, which builds shopping centres and stadiums in Nigeria, when he was kidnapped on 12 May by gunmen who stormed his apartment in the city of Birnin Kebbi, about 110 miles from Sokoto. The gunmen stormed into the heavily guarded compound 500 metres from the construction site where the men were working and tied up the guards.

    Lamolinara was also abducted. A German colleague managed to escape by scaling a wall, but a Nigerian engineer was shot and wounded. Another Italian, Eduardo Cavallieri, avoided capture and raised the alarm, the inquest was told.

    Source:The Guardian of London

  • Briton, Italian, five other foreigners kidnapped in Bauchi

    Gunmen kidnapped seven foreigners and killed a security guard when they stormed the compound of Lebanese construction company SETRACO in Bauchi Sunday  morning.

    Among those abducted were a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers, including two women, Local Government Chairman Adamu Aliyu and security sources said.

    Bauchi Police Chief Mohammed Ladan said the gunmen attacked a police station and a prison overnight before storming the construction firm’s compound in Jama’are, a Bauchi state town.

    “We repelled the attack on the police station and the security men at the prison yard also repelled the attack, but they burnt two vehicles in Jama’are police station,” Ladan said.

    “They then attacked Setraco construction, killed a local security guard and they succeeded in kidnapping people,”  he said and declined to state the nationality of the victims.

    The Italian and Greek foreign ministries confirmed that one of their nationals was taken in the raid. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Abuja said it was investigating.