The Foreign Ministry is sorry to announce that the information available points to the death of a Greek citizen who was abducted on 16 February by a terrorist organization in Nigeria. The Foreign Ministry has notified his family.
The Greek citizen was employed by the Lebanese company Setraco and was working in Bauchi, in northern Nigeria, when armed perpetrators attacked the compound where company personnel resided and abducted seven persons.
After taking responsibility for the attack, the terrorist organization at no stage either communicated or expressed demands for the release of the hostages.
Throughout the intervening time, the Greek side made it absolutely clear to all involved sides that its top priority was the protection and safety of the hostages. This defined our stance in every aspect of the handling of the case. Based on the information we have, no operation was mounted to free the hostages.
As soon as the Greek citizen’s abduction became known, the Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Management Unit was activated and coordinated with the other competent Greek Services, keeping the abductee’s family apprised continuously.
To maintain contact and coordinate with the other countries involved, a Team of specialized personnel was set up and carried out a number of meetings with the corresponding teams of the other countries.
The Greek Embassy in Nigeria was reinforced with high-ranking personnel, and the Embassy staff, diplomats and police officers, maintained contact with the Nigerian authorities and local Embassies, while Greece’s Embassies in the involved countries were in contact with the corresponding Foreign Ministries.
Finally, it is to be noted that Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos was throughout this time in ongoing contact with his counterparts in the other countries involved.
The Foreign Minister communicated with the victim’s mother, to whom he expressed his and the state’s grief and undivided support in these difficult hours.
March 10, 2013