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
seized from her home in Delta State on Sunday.
A finance ministry spokesman said
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala had been threatened recently but did not know whether this
was linked to the kidnapping.
Nigeria is one of the worst
countries in the world for kidnapping, where it is a lucrative criminal enterprise.
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.
Many businessmen, footballers and
academics have been kidnapped for ransom in southern Nigeria in recent months.
In the past, only foreign oil
workers used to be targeted, our correspondent says.
Traditional ruler
Police spokesman Frank Mba told AFP news agency that a "massive manhunt"
had been launched for the gunmen who seized Mrs Okonjo.
“Start
Quote
The family is hopeful of a
positive outcome as it fervently prays for the quick and safe return of the
matriarch.”
Paul NwabuikwuFinance ministry spokesman
"We might not have been able
to establish motive, but it is a clear case of kidnap," he is quoted as
saying.
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.
She has delayed the payment to
fuel importers, seeking better verification of claims for subsidies.
Our correspondent says police have
not indicated if a ransom demand has been made.
Nor have they publicly ruled out
the possibility of the abduction being politically motivated, he says.
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."
Mrs Okonjo is a medical doctor and retired professor of sociology at the
University of Nigeria in Nsukka.
Her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo
Agbogidi, a retired professor of economics, is the traditional ruler of the
Ogwashi-Uku kingdom in Delta State.
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
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