No Filipino in Nigeria abduction incident, says DFA

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday clarified that there was no Filipino worker among foreigners abducted in Nigeria over the weekend.

In a statement, DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said the Lebanese employer of foreign workers kidnapped in Northern Nigeria on Saturday informed the Philippine Embassy in Abuja that no Filipino was abducted.

“The Human Resource Officer of Setraco, the Lebanese employer of the kidnapped foreign workers, informed our embassy in Abuja, Nigeria that no Filipino was kidnapped from their site in the town of Jama’are in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi, contrary to the report of some news organization,” Hernandez said in a statement.

Reports from Nigeria earlier said a Filipino was among seven foreign workers of Setraco, a Lebanese-owned construction firm, who were abducted in an attack on Saturday.

An Islamic extremist group called Ansaru on Monday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the workers, reportedly including citizens of the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and Lebanon.