Nigeria: Vergnet employee escapes hostage takers after 11 months

Vergnet Groupe engineer Francis Collomp has escaped captivity in northern Nigeria, where he had been held since 19 December. Collomp was kidnapped by the Islamist group Ansaru while working on the 10MW Katsina wind power plant. He appears to have escaped after the door to his cell was left unlocked during prayers, allowing him to leave the building and hail a motorcycle taxi to take him to the nearest police station.