The radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram on Friday denied any involvement in the kidnap of the two foreign nationals that were killed during a botched rescue mission in Sokoto state.
A man identified as the spokesman of the group, Abul Qaqa Boko told reporters in a conference call on that the fundamentalist sect does not engage in hostage taking and demand for ransom.
“We have never been involved in hostage-taking and it’s not part of our style, and we never ask for ransom” he said, adding that “we are not behind the hostage taking … which led to the military operation yesterday in Sokoto in which the hostages were killed”.
British engineer, Chris McManus, 28 and his Italian colleague, Francesco Molinara, 48, were shot dead by their captors in Sokoto during a rescue operation led by British Special Boat Services and Nigerian military troops in a bid to free them.
The group that has staged numerous violent attacks across northern Nigeria stated that “we know how to settle our scores with anybody. Therefore the allegation that the kidnappers were members of our group is ridiculous.”
“Nigeria’s government had better get its facts straight and find the true identity of the kidnappers” Qaqa added.
“They should not use us to mask their incompetence.”
