ROME, Dec 12 (Reuters) – An Italian man kidnapped in Nigeria
last week has been released, the Italian foreign ministry said
on Thursday without giving further details.
Marcello Rizzo, 55, from Sicily, was working for the Italian
construction company Gitto Costruzioni when he was kidnapped in
the Niger delta in southern Nigeria. He had been living in the
country for eight years.
“We can confirm he has been freed but we have no more
information to give at the moment,” a foreign ministry
spokeswoman said when asked about reports on Italian news
agencies.
The Italian government announced Rizzo had been kidnapped on
Dec. 6, but officials said he was reported missing a few days
earlier.
Kidnappings in southern Nigeria tend to be for ransom and
the victims are often released. Abductions in the north are more
often the work of Islamist militant groups linked to al Qaeda.
(Reporting By Gavin Jones; editing by Ralph Boulton)
