bittyend:

I'll leave you to your delusions of grandeur - and your self acclaimed pseudo-wise grandiose - I don't need to prove anything to you. I'm whatever you think I'm, are you happy now?

Two hostages - a Briton and an Italian - have been killed by terrorists in northern Nigeria in an attempted rescue operation.

The effort to free Chris McManus, from northwest England, and his colleague Franco Lamolinara was launched by British special forces and the Nigerian army.

Sky sources say there were no fatalities on the British and Nigerian forces' side but there were several fatalities among the hostage-takers.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the pair appeared to have died at the hands of their captors, either before or during the course of the rescue bid.

Sky sources say it is believed there was a fight and during the assault the UK and Nigerian forces could not get to Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara in time.

"It strongly appears that the hostage-takers shot the hostages," the sources said.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said the pair's "killers" have been arrested and identified as members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram .


The rescue bid was launched after the UK received credible information about their whereabouts and that their lives were under increasing threat.

Speaking in Downing Street, Mr Cameron said Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara were "taken hostage by terrorists" in northern Nigeria in May last year.

"Since then, we have been working closely with the Nigerian authorities to try to find Chris and Franco, and to secure their release," he said.

"The terrorists holding the two hostages made very clear threats to take their lives, including in a video that was posted on the internet.

"After months of not knowing where they were being held, we received credible information about their location. A window of opportunity arose to secure their release.

"We also had reason to believe that their lives were under imminent and growing danger.

"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.


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

"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."

He added: "Our immediate thoughts must be with Chris and Franco's families, and we offer them our sincerest condolences."

Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara - contract workers for the Italian construction firm B Stabilini - were seized by gunmen who stormed the apartment they shared in Birnin-Kebbi.

A Nigerian and a German, who were also in the building, managed to escape but suffered injuries after being hit by bullets.

In August last year, a video of Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara was released by the kidnappers. It showed the pair blindfolded and kneeling in front of their captors who were armed with rifles and a machete.

In a statement, Mr McManus' family said they were "devastated by the news of Chris' death".

"During this ordeal we have relied heavily on the support of our family and friends which has never waned and has enabled us to get through the most difficult of times," they said.


"We are also aware of the many people who were working to try and have Chris returned to our family, and his girlfriend. We would like to thank all of them for their efforts.

"We knew Chris was in an extremely dangerous situation. However we knew that everything that could be done was being done."

Boko Haram, which is suspected to be responsible for the killings, began as a largely peaceful group and initially claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

But since it formed in 2004 its demands have varied and the sect has been blamed for an increasing number of attacks, which human rights groups say have claimed around 1,000 lives.

Sky's defence and security editor Sam Kiley said: "It is likely that the hostage-takers were not amateurs and were likely to be battle-hardened."

There have been a number of foreigners kidnapped while working in Nigeria in recent years.

In September 2008, two Britons were held by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta.

A Scottish oil worker was abducted and his guard killed in April 2009, in the Rivers State capital Port Harcourt.

Three Britons and a Colombian were kidnapped in January 2010 and in November of the same year, four men from the US, Canada and France were taken 7.5 miles offshore on the Okoro field.

faithin9ja:

@justwise please be patient with Bityyend, he needs education not insults. He is obviously one of those blacks in the Uk or US who blame all blackman's problems on Oyibo people.
1. The people of Birnin Kebbi queue in the bank to withdraw cash, often there is no cash because the nearest Central Bank is in Sokoto. So you tell the petty traders in Northern Nigeria that they don't need a local branch of Central Bank.

2. When my people where kidnapped in Edo state I would have called on UK, US, Germany even Iran or North Korea to help me and my family as it was we had to rely on the Niigerian Police.

So all this patriotic clap trap means nothing when life is at stake.

So sun of god, bityyend and other so~called patriotic Nigerians wake up and smell the coffee

@justwise please be patient with Bityyend, he needs education not insults. He is obviously one of those blacks in the Uk or US who blame all blackman's problems on Oyibo people.

So all this patriotic clap trap means nothing when life is at stake.

So sun of god, bityyend and other so~called patriotic Nigerians wake up and smell the coffee

1. The people of Birnin Kebbi queue in the bank to withdraw cash, often there is no cash because the nearest Central Bank is in Sokoto. So you tell the petty traders in Northern Nigeria that they don't need a local branch of Central Bank.

2. When my people where kidnapped in Edo state I would have called on UK, US, Germany even Iran or North Korea to help me and my family as it was we had to rely on the Niigerian Police.

Italian MPs have called for the exact circumstances of the operation to be "clarified with rigour". Massimo D'Alema, the president of the parliamentary security committee and a former prime minister, said he wanted to know why the operation went ahead without the British telling their Italian counterparts about it.

18.53 Italian MPs are asking whether the government knew in advance of the special forces operation and why Italian forces were not involved, says Nick Squires .

Emanuele Fiano, spokesman on security and defence for the Democratic Party, called on the government of Mario Monti to "clarify" exactly how the operation went wrong.

Rosa Calipari, another MP, said:

From what we know so far about this tragic operation it would seem that, notwithstanding the presence of an Italian who had been in the hands of kidnappers for a long time, our country was only told after the raid.

"We must ask why the Italian authorities in Nigeria, or other intelligence officers in the African country, were not involved in the decision for the operation to go ahead."

link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/9131831/British-hostage-killed-in-Nigeria-live.html

@bittyend FYI central bank in Nigeria issues bank notes, despite Sanusi's efforts Nigeria is still very much a cash based society so for everyday life people need cash, hence the need for Central Bank branches. Birnin Kebbi is 200kms from the nearest central bank.

Say thank you for the enlightenment.

Why do we even try and help these savages? I for one am now well
up for survival of the fittest - pull all our troops out and let them sort
it out for themselves. These hyper-religious nations will end up
starving themselves into insignificance - forget any aid, they can
provide for themselves from now on. They kidnap and kill the aid
workers that are there to help anyway, wo why bother? Fact is, Africa has an unsustainable population. Thanks to the Church
forbidding the use of condoms, starvation and disease (especially
AIDS) has ravaged the continent. They created this mess, they can
get themselves out of it and let their population stabilise. Then we
can let the religions 'persuade' each other they are right, without
our troops and citizens being in danger.

haconni:

bleep all you that replied to this post because you r modafokin' ghouls. why should u waste your time talking about some stinky dead fools out there in the danger zones. "they" empowered them and they are now seeing the ugly consequences of their action. that was how they created Al Qaeda and now spending the tax payers money to subdue or eliminate them. Just forget those stinking white cafoes. Their Joysticks suck. bleep!!

davidylan:

ah mooslims. Ever peaceful!

Onyocha:

it is very sad indeed to hear this news.

i hold the company they were working for responsible and the government of britain.

they could have paid a ransom to save the innocent men.and really we have heard nothing about this kidnapping since last year.

also,i condemn the british leading a military rescue operation in Nigeria.under no circumstance is that welcome.i[b] want to blame Jonathan for not refusing such breach of nigeria sovereignty by the british.this operation can now be seen as a failure and triumph for the kidnappers.it will only embolden them.the british over-confidence and Jonathan's approval have cost the lives of two innocent men working for their daily bread.[/b]

justwise:

Stop smoking weed.

Onyocha:

are you trying to be funny?

igbaodun:

I read somewhere that the whole operation was botched because of the incompetence and lack of professionalism of the Ibos/Biafrans that accompanied the British Special Forces on that sensitive assignment.

Can someone confirm or deny the story

Onyocha:

it is very sad indeed to hear this news.

i hold the company they were working for responsible and the government of britain.

they could have paid a ransom to save the innocent men.and really we have heard nothing about this kidnapping since last year.

also,i condemn the british leading a military rescue operation in Nigeria.under no circumstance is that welcome.i want to blame Jonathan for not refusing such breach of nigeria sovereignty by the british.this operation can now be seen as a failure and triumph for the kidnappers.it will only embolden them.the british over-confidence and Jonathan's approval have cost the lives of two innocent men working for their daily bread.

igbaodun:

I read somewhere that the whole operation was botched because of the incompetence and lack of professionalism of the Ibos/Biafrans that accompanied the British Special Forces on that sensitive assignment.

Can someone confirm or deny the story

Sun of god:

Thank you,

(Ignore JustUnwise - he's backward)

justwise:

Forward-thinking, little minded cretins who blames everybody else apart from ourselves for our problems. How did the British govt breached Nigerian 'sovereignty' when the operation was carried out with Nigerian security men and given-go-ahead by our govt?