How $2.4bn subsidy fraud probe led to my mother’s kidnapping – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has recounted how an investigation into an alleged $2.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud led to threats against her and the kidnapping of her mother.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua, recalling the incident during her time as Nigeria’s minister of finance.

She said she became concerned after noticing a sharp increase in claims by fuel importers seeking government payments under Nigeria’s subsidy programme.

Nigeria relied on imported refined petroleum products because its refineries could not meet domestic demand. Under the subsidy arrangement, the government paid importers to allow them to sell fuel at regulated prices.

Okonjo-Iweala said she informed the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, of the suspected irregularities and obtained approval to audit the accounts.

The investigation uncovered what she described as about $2.4 billion in fraud, prompting the government to withhold payments on the disputed claims.

She said the decision led to threats against her before her mother was kidnapped. The abductors demanded that she resign as minister and leave Nigeria in exchange for her mother’s release.

“It was a terrible, terrible five-day ordeal. I think the worst in my life,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala said her mother was held in a forest but escaped one night.

“She was held in the middle of a forest and one night she escaped. She’s still alive. She’s 96 now,” she said.

The WTO chief said the incident remained painful to recall, adding that her mother still became distressed whenever the subject was raised.

“Having my mother alive and staying in a job, I will pick my mother any day,” she said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother, Kamene Okonjo, was kidnapped from her home in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, in December 2012, when she was 83.

A statement from the finance ministry at the time confirmed the abduction and said the minister had received threats in the past.

In a 2016 interview with French newspaper Le Monde, Okonjo-Iweala also linked the kidnapping to her efforts to tackle corruption in the fuel subsidy programme, saying the abductors had demanded her resignation.

She served as Nigeria’s finance minister under former President Jonathan before becoming WTO director-general in March 2021.

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