Three Lebanese nationals have been kidnapped in Nigeria, a source at Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry told The Daily Star Wednesday.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the men were kidnapped Tuesday.
"We don't have their names and we don't know where the kidnapping took place," the source said.
"But the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has been informed by sources from the Lebanese community in Nigeria that efforts are under way to secure their release," the source added.
He would not give details or say whether the men were being held for ransom.
Islamist militants from the Ansaru group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreigners, including two Lebanese which followed a raid on the housing compound of Lebanese-Nigerian construction firm Setraco in the northern region of Bauchi Feb. 16.
The group later announced they had killed the seven, releasing a video shortly afterward that purported to show the slain hostages.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, however, gave new hope to the families of the two Lebanese kidnapped there when he said earlier this month that “some” of the original seven hostages may be alive.
The governments of Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom have all confirmed the likely death of their nationals, while Lebanon has said its citizens - Imad al-Andari and Carlos Abu Aziz - did not appear in the video and may have been placed in a separate group with the two Syrians.
