British hostage is killed as 3 others are freed after being kidnapped in Nigeria

A British hostage has been killed and three others freed - three weeks after they were kidnapped in Nigeria.

Ian Squire was among four Christian charity workers seized in the early hours of October 13 while working as missionaries in the country's southern Delta state.

The British High Commission and Nigerian authorities negotiated the release of three others - Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan. 

The circumstances surrounding Mr Squire's death, three weeks after his kidnap, were not immediately clear.  

In a statement, 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.' 

Alanna Carson worked as an optometrist at Specsavers in Leven, Fife. Store director Adrian McCann of said today: 'We are of course hugely relieved to hear that our colleague has been safely released and is back home with her family.'

In October, it was reported that the group had been taken on October 13 by a militant group renowned for demanding ransoms.

The four had been providing 'free medical care and religious activities' in the Burutu area of Delta state, said Chief Theo Fakama, from the local Enukorowa community.

David Donovan, a former GP from Cambridge, and his wife Shirley, both 57, were identified by The Times as two of the four people taken from their accommodation.

Together they ran a charity called New Foundations, providing medical care to remote villages.

Their two sons Julian and Aiden were understood to also work for the charity, though it was reported at the time that it was believed they had not been caught up in the kidnap.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said today: 'We are supporting the families of four British people who were abducted on October 13 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.' 

Nigerian police believed militants who have attacked oil and gas pipelines in the oil-rich Niger delta region were behind the kidnapping.

They said on October 19 that four people had been arrested in connection with the abduction.

Nigerian intelligence sources said the Britons were thought to have been taken to militant camps in the creeks and swamps of the delta.

The four had been providing 'free medical care and religious activities' in the Burutu area of Delta state, said Chief Theo Fakama, from the local Enukorowa community.

Fakama said locals were 'saddened' by the kidnapping as the group had 'brought succour to residents of the community for the past three years'.

Delta state police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka said on October 18 that the Britons had been providing humanitarian services.

'But unfortunately, they didn't let the authorities know of their presence in the area all this while,' he said.

'There is a militant group that has been operating in the area and we believe they are the ones behind the abduction.'

Last month, an Italian priest based in Nigeria for the last three years was kidnapped by armed gunmen near Benin City, the capital of Edo state. He was released within days.

Nigeria also saw the infamous kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in 2014. 

The British High Commission and Nigerian authorities negotiated the release David Donovan (left) and Shirley Donovan (right) as well as Alanna Carson. A fourth Briton, Ian Squire, has been killed