Islamist militant group Boko Haram was paid more than $3m
(£2m) before releasing a French family of seven, a Nigerian government report
says.
The confidential report seen by
international press however does not say
who paid the money.
Both France and Cameroon deny paying
a ransom while Nigeria has not commented on the issue.
The French family, including four
children, were captured in Cameroon in February and freed last week and handed
over to Cameroon authorities.
The French family, who live in Yaounde, where
Tanguy Moulin-Fournier worked for the French gas group Suez, had been returning
from a holiday in the Waza National Park in northern Cameroon when they were
kidnapped by gunmen on motorbikes on 19 February.
Mr Moulin-Fournier, his wife Albane
and four children, aged between five and 12, had been joined on their holiday
by his brother Cyril.
In a YouTube video released about a
week after their capture, the militants demanded the release of prisoners in
Cameroon and Nigeria.
One of them also criticised French
President Francois Hollande for sending troops to fight Islamist militants in
northern Mali in January.
The French-led operation in Mali has
ousted the Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda's North African branch, from
cities and towns in the vast desert region they had captured a year ago in the
wake of a coup.
Boko Haram, which began its
insurgency following a deadly crackdown on its members in 2009, had previously
said it was not involved in hostage taking.
It has usually followed a Nigerian
agenda, and says it wants to establish an Islamic state.
During its insurgency at least 2,000
people have been killed in northern and parts of central Nigeria.
