Guard Killed, 8 Expatriates Abducted By Gunmen In Bauchi

Gunmen stormed the compound of a Lebanese construction company, Setraco, in Bauchi State, yesterday, kidnapping eight foreigners and killing a security guard, police said.

A Briton, an Italian, a Greek and five Lebanese workers, including a woman and a child were among those kidnapped.

Confirming the incident, Bauchi Police Commissioner Mohammed Ladan said the gunmen attacked a police station and a prison overnight before storming the construction firm’s compound.

“We repelled the attack on 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 security guard and succeeded in kidnapping people.”

Although Ladan did not disclose the identity of the people kidnapped, he said Police had commenced investigations into the separate attacks, adding that he will only give detail of the kidnapped workers of the company after investigations.

When contacted, the Italian foreign ministry confirmed one of its nationals was taken in the raid. However, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Abuja said it was still investigating.

Chairman of Jama’are Local Government Area, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu, has explained that the eight people kidnapped in Setraco Construction Company are expatriates.

Speaking with newsmen in Bauchi, Aliyu noted; “Among the workers kidnapped were one from Britain, one from Greece, one from Italy, while the remaining five are Lebanese.”