I don't know if this has been given enough coverage back home but its something to worry about if true. Al-Qaeda abducting people in NIGERIA?

A BRITISH man kidnapped in Nigeria in May has appeared on video for the first time.

The hostage says he was taken by members of terror group al-Qaeda in the footage.

A news agency was sent the one-minute long film in which two kidnap victims are seen blindfolded and kneeling in front of three heavily armed men.

The Brit and Italian engineers were abducted from their flat in Birnin Kebbi, in the north-east of Nigeria.

It was not clear when the film was made — but it is the first time they have been seen since their abduction.

The hostages give their names — which have not been made public — and each deliver a statement urging their governments to meet the demands of the kidnappers.

However, no details of the abductors or their demands are given.

Italy's foreign ministry released a statement late last night saying it was following the event "with the upmost attention".

The British Foreign Office said today: "A video has been released allegedly showing the hostages and officials are urgently checking its authenticity."

The engineers, who worked for Italian construction company B. Stabilini and were involved in the construction of a Nigerian central bank building, were taken on May 12.

A German colleague managed to escape by scaling a fence, while a Nigerian engineer was shot and wounded.

Nigerian authorities have said they have not had any contact with the kidnappers.

A source close to the case said that the video, sent to AFP, appeared to be "about ten days" old.

Abductions are rare in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria although there have been numerous kidnappings for ransom in the south, around the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

Al-Qaeda's north African branch, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has claimed kidnappings of foreign workers in neighbouring Niger in recent years, but never in Nigeria.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3733045/Kidnapped-Brit-appears-on-video.html