The Norwegian national that the Abu Sayyaf Group has held captive since 2015, and threatened to sever his head last June, has been freed alive.
The Abu Sayyaf Group confirmed on Saturday that they have released Norwegian national Kjartan Sekkingstad, one of the four people they abducted from a marina on Samal Island in Davao del Norte in November last year.
ASG spokesperson Abu Ramie said that they have handed Sekkingstad to an official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Barangay Bud Pula in Patikul on Saturday at at 3:30 in the afternoon.
The MNLF official was later identified as commander Tahil Sali.
Ramie has previously announced that the Norwegian captive was ready for release since Friday and they were only waiting for the delivery of the P30 million ransom in exchange of Sekkingstad’s liberty.
Aside from Sekkingstad, two other abductees were John Ridsdel and Robert Hall who are both Canadians but their heads were severed after failing to meet the bandit group’s ransom demand.
Hall’s Filipina girlfriend, Marites Flor, was also freed last June.
In August, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that a P50 million ransom has already been paid for Sekkingstad’s freedom but the ASG kept custody of him.
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