ABUJA (AFP) – A British and an Italian hostage killed on Thursday were murdered by “their Boko Haram captors” and those responsible have been arrested, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement.

Jonathan “condemned the killing of two kidnapped foreigners — an Italian and a British citizen — in Sokoto state Thursday by their Boko Haram captors before they could be rescued by a joint security raid on the kidnappers’ hideout,” a statement from his office said.

The statement added: “The president, who particularly commended the cooperation and understanding of the British and Italian governments, assured that the perpetrators of the murderous act, who have all been arrested, would be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

The men were kidnapped by heavily armed men who stormed their apartment in the city of Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi state in northwest Nigeria, near the Niger border