No conclusive security reports on slain hostages-Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Monday in Abuja that there was no conclusive security report on the seven expatriate hostages purportedly killed by their abductors, the Islamic extremist group, Ansaru.

Jonathan made the declaration at a joint press briefing he held with visiting president of Lebanon, Gen. Michel Sleiman. The seven expatriates abducted from the premises of a construction firm in Jama’are area of Bauchi State on Feb. 16 were from Lebanon, Britain, Greece and Italy.

Ansaru had claimed on social media that it abducted the expatriates because of France’s military intervention in Mali and killed them because of attempts by Nigeria and Britain to free them. Responding to a question on the fate of the hostages, President Jonathan said that government believed that not all the captives had been killed.

 The president, who decried the excesses of the group, noted that government was careful in effecting a forceful rescue of hostages to forestall killings.

“It is quite a sad moment in our history – the issue of the excesses of Boko Haram and related organisations getting involved terrorist tactics. It is quite sad. It is a very ugly phase which we would pass through.

“From the date of the kidnap, various nationals were involved and we’ve been working with our own friendly nations including the United Kingdom and others to see that these people are rescued.

 “Because of the ugly experience we had when a similar situation happened and about the time we were about to release the people, they were shot, security services were being careful so that if they notice invasion they would not just turn round and kill the people.

 “Along that process, the place where they suspected to be holding them is quite a difficult area – a rocky terrain that you cannot easily access.

 “Over the period they released some information through the social media but analysis of that information does not really give us a conclusive position so we discussed it every day.

 “We really suspect that some probably have died either from health or other related causes or direct killing, but we still believe that not all the seven had been killed; because even the release in the social media did not really show all the seven so we are still working on it.

 “I briefed my colleague, the President of Lebanon that we are still working on it and will get to the root and if they are killed, I insisted that we must get their corpses.’’

 In his remarks, the Lebanese president said he agreed with the report as presented by President Jonathan and thanked the Nigerian government for efforts being made at liberating the hostages.

 Sleiman who spoke through an interpreter called on the abductors to have a rethink and release the hostages “immediately’’.

He noted that no matter the grievances of the group, such abduction would have a negative effect on their cause