Kidnapped British optometrist killed in Nigeria

Mr Ian Squire was one of four aid workers kidnapped in October when a militant group, calling thselves the Karowei, stormed a village in the Niger Delta.At the time of publication there was still little known about the circumstances of Squire’s death, but the BBC reported locals had claimed the kidnappers were a criminal gang who had been operating in the area for around a year.“This is their first kidnapping of foreigners. They had kidnapped very recently the mother of a local politician, but before that they were just carrying out petty crime,” BBC Lagos correspondent Ms Stephanie Hegarty said.{{quote-A:R-W:450-Q: It is a sign of this day and age, but he wasn’t concerned about that. He just wanted to go out and help people in less fortunate situations than ours. -WHO:Mr Paul Allan, Friend and neighbouring business owner}}“We know that a ransom was danded but we don’t know if it was paid.”The militants also kidnapped another optometrist, Ms Alanna Carson, along with charity founders Dr David Donovan and his wife Shirley, but they have since been released unharmed.According to friends of Squire, who ran a practice in Surrey, he used to travel to Africa every year to carry out charity work and would often fundraise ahead of his trips.“I find it shocking to believe for someone who has gone out to do good in the community overseas that the action has cost him dearly. It has cost him his life. It is beyond belief,” friend and neighbouring business owner Mr Paul Allan said.“It is a sign of this day and age, but he wasn’t concerned about that. He just wanted to go out and help people in less fortunate situations than ours.”Meanwhile, relatives of the four who were taken hostage said they were “delighted and relieved” that Carson and the Donovan’s had returned safely.“Our thoughts are now with the family and friends of Ian as we come to terms with his sad death,” they said in a statent issued on their behalf.