Kidnapping: Bristish govt warns citizens against travelling to Delta State

British government advises nationals not to travel to Delta state for fear of being kidnapped.

The British government has warned its citizens in Nigeria not to travel to Delta State because of the high rate of criminal kidnap in the area.

The British Foreign Office in an advisory issued yesterday said there is a “high threat of criminal kidnap” in the area.

This warning followed the death of a British charity worker killed by militants in the state after being abducted.

Naija News gathered that the victim, Ian Squire, an optician from Surrey who was doing charity work in the oil-rich Delta region, was kidnapped alongside three others last month.

Read also: EFCC compelled me to write statement – Ex Air Force Chief, Mamu

The Foreign Office confirmed that Mr Squire had been taken in the raid in the early hours of October 13 after the rural community was stormed and killed, while the other three who were kidnapped, Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan, have been released.

He founded Christian charity Mission for Vision in 2003 and has organised teams to take old glasses to remote areas in Africa from donations to his opticians’ surgery in Shepperton, Surrey.

It was learnt that the British High Commission and Nigerian authorities negotiated the release of the three others.

David, 57 and Shirley Donovan, 57, live in Cambridge, where David is a GP at the Riverside Practice. The two founded their Cambridge-based Christian medical charity New Foundations.

Read also: Migration: 26 Nigerian females die at sea

The foundation and Mission for Vision have set up a “vision centre” accessible only by boat in the Nigerian region from where eye clinics were carried out in the remote village of Ekameta.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the Nigerian authorities were investigating the kidnapping, saying it had been a “traumatic time” for those involved. “Our staff will continue to do all we can to support the families.”

Relatives said they were “delighted and relieved” that Ms Carson, Mr Donovan and Mrs Donovan had returned safely.

“Our thoughts are now with the family and friends of Ian as we come to terms with his sad death. This has been a traumatic time for our loved ones who were kidnapped and for their families and friends here in the UK,” they said.