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Nigeria kidnappers free UK girl | Nigeria kidnappers free UK girl |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A three-year-old British girl has been reunited with her parents after being freed by kidnappers in southern Nigeria who had held her for four days. | |
Margaret Hill's parents, Mike and Oluchi Hill, said she was in good health but "covered in mosquito bites". | |
The kidnappers had threatened to kill the girl unless a ransom was paid or Briton Mr Hill took her place. The oil worker said no ransom had been paid. | |
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "delighted" at the release. | UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "delighted" at the release. |
Mr Hill told Sky News that his daughter had returned "in a little bit of a trance", but soon began coming back to life and talking to her mother. | Mr Hill told Sky News that his daughter had returned "in a little bit of a trance", but soon began coming back to life and talking to her mother. |
The child had been held "in the bush... in some sort of hut", he said. | The child had been held "in the bush... in some sort of hut", he said. |
I was trying to comfort my wife and she was waking up crying Mike Hill "I don't think she had much to eat because she is hungry now." | I was trying to comfort my wife and she was waking up crying Mike Hill "I don't think she had much to eat because she is hungry now." |
Describing the couple's ordeal since their daughter's kidnap on Thursday, Mr Hill said: "The pressure is unbelievable, it's difficult to explain. You stop eating and can't think of anything else. You are just worrying all the time. | Describing the couple's ordeal since their daughter's kidnap on Thursday, Mr Hill said: "The pressure is unbelievable, it's difficult to explain. You stop eating and can't think of anything else. You are just worrying all the time. |
"I was trying to comfort my wife and she was waking up crying." | "I was trying to comfort my wife and she was waking up crying." |
Mr Miliband said: "I am grateful to the Nigerian authorities for all their help and I hope the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice." | Mr Miliband said: "I am grateful to the Nigerian authorities for all their help and I hope the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice." |
A Foreign Office spokesman said Margaret was due to have a check-up with a doctor on Monday morning. | A Foreign Office spokesman said Margaret was due to have a check-up with a doctor on Monday morning. |
Immense pressure | Immense pressure |
Margaret was snatched when gunmen smashed the window of a car driving her to school in Port Harcourt as it stood in traffic. | Margaret was snatched when gunmen smashed the window of a car driving her to school in Port Harcourt as it stood in traffic. |
The car's driver was stabbed as he tried to protect the girl. | The car's driver was stabbed as he tried to protect the girl. |
Her Nigerian mother, Oluchi Hill, later said the abductors had contacted her and demanded an unspecified ransom for Margaret's release. | Her Nigerian mother, Oluchi Hill, later said the abductors had contacted her and demanded an unspecified ransom for Margaret's release. |
The kidnappers had vowed to kill the girl unless her father, a British expatriate oil worker originally from Murton in County Durham, took her place. | The kidnappers had vowed to kill the girl unless her father, a British expatriate oil worker originally from Murton in County Durham, took her place. |
Mr Hill also runs a bar in Port Harcourt. | Mr Hill also runs a bar in Port Harcourt. |
Kidnapping has become the norm in the oil-rich but impoverished Niger delta region, the BBC's Alex Last says, but this time there was immense pressure on her captors. | Kidnapping has become the norm in the oil-rich but impoverished Niger delta region, the BBC's Alex Last says, but this time there was immense pressure on her captors. |
The President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar'Adua, called for the girl's release, and the region's main militant group - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) - offered to help find her. | The President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar'Adua, called for the girl's release, and the region's main militant group - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) - offered to help find her. |
Our correspondent says more than 200 hostages have been taken by armed groups in the last 18 months in Nigeria, but none has ever been killed. | Our correspondent says more than 200 hostages have been taken by armed groups in the last 18 months in Nigeria, but none has ever been killed. |
Margaret was the third child to be kidnapped in the last six weeks. | Margaret was the third child to be kidnapped in the last six weeks. |
The daughter of a Nigerian businessman and a local state legislator's daughter were both eventually released unharmed after ransom payments. | The daughter of a Nigerian businessman and a local state legislator's daughter were both eventually released unharmed after ransom payments. |