By Andrew Young-
News of a British man killed in Nigeria after being held hostage has raised warnings for visitors to certain parts of Nigeria.
Ian Squire was killed while three others returned home safely after British and Nigerian authorities negotiated their release.
The circumstances surrounding Ian Squire’s death, three weeks after his abduction, are not immediately clear but can be discovered through avid investigation in the area of his disappearance.
Squire and fellow Christian charity workers David and Shirley Donovan and Alanna Carson were working as missionaries when they were abducted from their accommodation in the southern Delta state in the early hours of 13 October.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said:
“We are supporting the families of four British people who were abducted on 13 October in Nigeria, one of whom was tragically killed.
“This has clearly been a traumatic time for all concerned, and our staff will continue to do all we can to support the families. We are grateful to the Nigerian authorities, and are unable to comment given the ongoing nature of their investigations.”
A statement provided by the families of the four hostages said:
“Alanna, Ian, David and Shirley were kidnapped in Nigeria some three weeks ago. We are grateful for the support received by the British high commission and help from the Nigerian authorities in negotiating their release.
“We are delighted and relieved that Alanna, David and Shirley have returned home 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. We would therefore ask that the media respect our privacy as we come to terms with the news. We will not be making any further comment.”, 56, an optician from Shepperton in Surrey, had previously visited Nigeria three times to carry out work for his self-founded charity, Mission for Vision, which makes annual trips to remote regions of Africa to carry out “comprehensive eye care programmes”.
FOREIGN OFFICE WARNING
Delta State in Nigeria is one of the cities British visitors are warned to avoid if visiting Nigeria. Along with other cities like Borno State, State, Bauchi State, Adamawa State, Cross Rivers State, and a number of others listed as being highly prone to kidnapping, Delta State is ridden with dangerous criminal gangs ready to find as their prey, seemingly affluent visitors from Western countries.
A spokesperson from the Nigerian High Commission in Britain told the eye of media.com ” The tough economic conditions underlined by gripping austerity and unrest can make western visitors prime targets in some parts of Nigeria. However, most western visitors to Nigeria will generally return safely. The advise to those visiting Nigeria is to be vigilant, don’t act flash, and choose your friends carefully. Western visitors with an established business or organisation in Nigeria should be extra vigilant and carefully choose the location of their business or organisation”.
Over 100,000 British citizens visit Nigeria safely every year, according to home office records, but safety depends on which part of the country they reside, how affluent they are perceived to be, and which type of people catch wind of their presence in the area.
FORCES
56 year old Squire has been traveling to Nigeria for the past four years, since 2013, when he joined forces with the Donovans’ New Foundations- a Christian health charity. During his first mission, the golden hearted missionary set up an eye clinic with facilities for sight testing, dispensing and spectacle glazing.
Carson, also worked as an optometrist at Specsavers in Leven, Fife.
Adrian McCann, the store director, said: “We are of course hugely relieved to hear that our colleague has been safely released and is back home with her family.”
FOUNDER
David Donovan- a GP from Cambridge- founded New Foundations in 2003. It aimed to train, support and pay community healthcare workers “in regions of extreme need and lack of infrastructure”, with a focus on the Niger Delta.
Their Charity Commission website present the charity as being : “expressively evangelical underpinning all its activities by declaring the gospel of salvation exclusively through Jesus Christ. All the work of the charity is to declare the love of God, without prejudice, treatment and ministering to all without precondition or discrimination.”
The website mentions as one of its key achievements, the setting up of an eye clinic in Enekorogha, where the men were abducted by gunmen.
The filing said:
“Training continued with three workers and Mission for Vision CEO Ian Squire again visited with a team to trial a bespoke lens grinder and upscale the refractive and lens-making skills of the small eye team.”
It is believed a ransom was negotiated by either the British or Nigerian Government, ( more likely the latter) but such details can never be disclosed so as not to give the wrong impression that kidnapping pays off. However, without definitive evidence, there is no certainty on precisely how the situation was eventually resolved.
The murder of Ian Squire is sad and tragic because he was a loving and caring man who invested his time, love, and money in the wrong part of Nigeria. Unfortunately, not everyone responds to love with an equal measure of love. There are always going to be people with sinister motives. Despite warnings to avoid certain parts of Nigeria British government, many people take the risk every year without incident until they happen to be caught up in the dangerous scenario of kidnapping. Nigeria is considered the richest country in Africa, its soil blessed with natural oil and minerals, yet millions of its inhabitants live in abject poverty.