{"id":238260,"date":"2012-12-10T12:49:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2012\/12\/hunt-for-seized-ministers-mother\/"},"modified":"2012-12-10T12:49:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-10T12:49:00","slug":"hunt-for-seized-ministers-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2012\/12\/10\/hunt-for-seized-ministers-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunt for seized minister’s mother"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NigerianNgozi Okonjo-Iweala, an internationally respected economist, has tried to tackle corruption in Nigeria<\/span><\/div>\n

Nigeria’s police have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother, a spokesman has said.<\/p>\n

Kamene Okonjo, a professor, was taken from her home in Delta State on Sunday.<\/p>\n

A finance ministry spokesman said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala had been threatened recently but did not know whether this was linked to the kidnapping.<\/p>\n

Nigeria is one of the worst countries in the world for kidnapping, where it is a lucrative criminal enterprise.<\/p>\n

BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says kidnappings are so common in the country that they rarely make front page news, but the 82-year-old Mrs Okonjo’s abduction has attracted huge publicity.<\/p>\n

Many businessmen, footballers and academics have been kidnapped for ransom in southern Nigeria in recent months.<\/p>\n

In the past, only foreign oil workers used to be targeted, our correspondent says.<\/p>\n

Traditional ruler<\/span><\/p>\n

Police spokesman Frank Mba told AFP news agency that a “massive manhunt” had been launched for the gunmen who seized Mrs Okonjo.<\/p>\n

“We might not have been able to establish motive, but it is a clear case of kidnap,” he is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, 58, is an internationally respected economist who has led a high-profile campaign to clean up corruption in Nigeria, particularly in a controversial fuel subsidy programme.<\/p>\n

She has delayed the payment to fuel importers, seeking better verification of claims for subsidies.<\/p>\n

Our correspondent says police have not indicated if a ransom demand has been made.<\/p>\n

Nor have they publicly ruled out the possibility of the abduction being politically motivated, he says.<\/p>\n

The minister’s spokesman Paul Nwabuikwu said: “This is obviously a very difficult time for the entire Okonjo family. But the family is hopeful of a positive outcome as it fervently prays for the quick and safe return of the matriarch.”<\/p>\n

Mrs Okonjo is a medical doctor and retired professor of sociology at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo Agbogidi, a retired professor of economics, is the traditional ruler of the Ogwashi-Uku kingdom in Delta State.<\/p>\n

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was one of the leading candidates to take over the World Bank this spring. She was previously the institution’s managing-director but lost out to the Korean-American, Jim Yong Kim.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an internationally respected economist, has tried to tackle corruption in Nigeria Nigeria’s police have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother, a spokesman has said. Kamene Okonjo, a professor, was taken from her home in Delta State on Sunday. A finance ministry spokesman said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-238260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nHunt for seized minister's mother - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2012\/12\/10\/hunt-for-seized-ministers-mother\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Hunt for seized minister's mother - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an internationally respected economist, has tried to tackle corruption in Nigeria Nigeria’s police have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother, a spokesman has said. 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