Kidnapped Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Mother of Nigerian finance minister freed

Professor Kamene Okonjo, the mother of Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was abducted last Sunday from her home, has been freed.

According to sources, the 82-year old queen is now with security operatives, just as report says  Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is on his way to  Ogwashi-Ukwu to receive her.

Vanguard gathered that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been informed of her release.

In a statement, Special Adviser on Media to the Coordinating Minister, Paul Nwabuikwu, said the wife of the Obi of Ogwashi-Ukwu, Chukuka Okonjo, was released Friday morning.

“I can confirm that Professor Mrs Kamene Okonjo, wife of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, Professor Chukuka Okonjo and mother of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy/Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was released this morning, five days after her abduction.

“The Okonjo Family is full of thanks to the Almighty for this happy development. The family is also highly appreciative of the support and encouragement of President Goodluck Jonathan; the Country’s security services for their excellent operations; Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, Peter Obi of Anambra, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and other Governors as well other friends and well wishers within and outside government for their prayers and encouragement during a very difficult period. May God bless you all.”

The Nigeria army yesterday said soldiers had arrested 63 people in raids conducted during the search for Prof. Okonjo.

Source:Vanguard

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Abuja, Dec. 14 - Kamene Okonjo, the 82-year-old mother of Nigerian minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been freed. She had been kidnapped on Sunday in the southern Delta state. Local security forces reported that the Nigerian military has arrested 63 people in the last few hours in an operation to free the captured woman, a retired university professor.

The two policemen guarding the Okonjo family residence during the kidnapping are also in custody. It is not yet clear whether a ransom was paid and if this abduction, which has been on the front pages of Nigeria's newspapers for days, also had the political motive of putting pressure on a Western-educated minister who is trying to clean up and increase the transparency of the country's public finances.

Okonjo-Iweala, 54, graduated from Harvard, has an MA from MIT in Boston, was director general of the World Bank and contested the presidency this year. Kidnappings for ransom are common in southern Nigeria, so much so that they normally just merit a few lines in the local newspapers and are usually resolved within a few days when a ransom is paid. . .

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