LAGOS: Two American and two Canadians who were kidnapped in an ambush by gunmen in northern Nigeria this week were freed on Saturday, police said.
Nigerian security forces had launched a manhunt after the four were seized on Tuesday evening in the state of Kaduna by kidnappers who shot dead two of their police escorts.
“They have been rescued thanks to the efforts of the police,” Kaduna state police spokesman Muktar Aliyu said.
“All of them are in a good condition of health” and are now in the care of their embassies, he said.
Aliyu said they were rescued at about 5 am (0400 GMT) in the same area where they were kidnapped, but declined to give further information, saying it was “classified information.”
“I cannot confirm if there have been negotiations or a ransom paid,” Aliyu added.
One person suspected of links to the kidnapping — the latest abduction targeting foreigners in Nigeria — has been arrested, he said.
The four North Americans — whose identities have not been disclosed — were on private business in Kaduna when they were snatched on the road from the town of Kafanchan to the capital Abuja.
Kidnapping has long been a problem in Nigeria’s southern states, where high-profile individuals, including the families of prominent politicians, are regularly seized.
But as the economy stalled in recent years, the crime began creeping north.
A State Department travel advisory urges US citizens to “reconsider” traveling to Nigeria, warning that “violent crime such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping and rape is common throughout the country.”
A crackdown on cattle rustling has been blamed for rising numbers of abductions in the north, with criminals turning to kidnapping.
The Kaduna-Abuja road is notoriously unsafe. It is a journey of about two-and-a-half hours by car through villages and past tracts of fields and forests.
Security on the route came under intense scrutiny last year when the federal government announced the closure of the capital’s only airport for essential runway repairs.
Many foreign missions and companies advised staff to limit their travel during the closure period, as all domestic and some international flights were switched to Kaduna.
In July 2016, Sierra Leone’s defense attaché to Nigeria was kidnapped by men in military fatigues armed with AK-47 rifles at a fake checkpoint on the Abuja-Kaduna road.
And in another abduction against foreigners, in October, four Britons including a man and his wife working for a Christian charity were kidnapped in the southeastern Delta State.
The British government announced the following month that one of the hostages was killed, but the three others were freed.
Four US, Canadian captives freed in Nigeria: police
Four US, Canadian captives freed in Nigeria: police
France PM edges closer to forcing budget through without a vote
- Lecornu managed to get a bill on social security spending approved by year end
- The center-right government said late on Thursday it would be “impossible to adopt a budget by a vote“
PARIS: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Friday inched closer to forcing his budget bill through parliament without a vote while desperately seeking a way to avoid being toppled by parliament as a result.
The eurozone’s second-largest economy has been bogged down in political crisis since President Emmanuel Macron called a snap poll in 2024, in which he lost his parliamentary majority.
In a bid to survive being toppled by parliament like his two predecessors, Lecornu last year pledged to seek parliament approval for a 2026 austerity budget — and not ram it through without a vote.
He managed to get a bill on social security spending approved by year end but lawmakers have failed to reach a compromise on state expenses.
The center-right government said late on Thursday it would be “impossible to adopt a budget by a vote” and that it had given itself until Tuesday to examine two alternative options.
One is to use a constitutional power under “Article 49.3” to push the legislation through parliament without a vote, as for previous budgets.
That can trigger a no-confidence vote, which could topple the government and its spending bill with it.
The other option is for the first time to issue a decree that forces the budget directly into law.
That too could spark a no-confidence vote, but the budget would remain even if the cabinet was ousted.
- Appealling to Socialists -
Lecornu appeared on Friday to be working on concessions to secure the backing of the Socialists, a key swing group in parliament, to survive any motion to topple him.
The prime minister would be “making one-euro university meals available to all students” as part of the final budget bill, an adviser said, evoking a measure the Socialists had requested.
The party had in 2024 put forward a bill for all students to pay just one euro ($1.16) for a meal, not just some with scholarships or within lower income brackets. Other students now pay 3.30 euros.
A poll of around 800 people that year found that a third of students at times skipped a meal “for lack of money.”
Lecornu, who has warned that kicking him out would spark early elections, defended the “responsible” budget while announcing further social benefits in a televised speech later Friday.
An additional 400 million euros would go toward social housing providers and low-income earners would see a top-up benefit increased by an average of 50 euros per month, he said while assuring there would be “no increase in taxes on households.”
Existing tax breaks to pensioners would also be preserved, along with student grants, he said.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum have emerged exasperated after months of back and forth, and are looking for a swift resolution.
“I’m tired of having the same debate over and over again,” said right-wing Republicans lawmaker Marie-Christine Dalloz.
“I’m really looking forward to the end of this episode.”
Greens member of parliament Steevy Gustave said he felt like a “robot” repeating the same thing every day.
“If only there had been results, some compromises — but no,” he said.
