PROF. Kanene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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PROF. Kanene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was on Sunday abducted at the gate of the
palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Prof. Chukwuka
Okonjo, who is her husband.
The 82-year-old monarch’s wife was said to have
been abducted at about 1.47pm by a gang of armed men who seized her at the gate
of the palace at Ogbe-ofu and took her away, when her husband travelled out of
the town.
But the Police command in the state has said a
man, who was said to have left the palace a few minutes before the incident, had
been arrested.
The man was said to have informed the housemaid
that he was in the palace to take the octogenarian to somewhere in the town.
The kidnappers, numbering about 10, were said to
be lurking around the palace until the woman and her maid came down to offer
some drinks to workers at the gate.
Eyewitness said as soon as the woman came down
from the main building, towards the gate, the criminals also moved in from the
gate to grab and push her into a waiting Golf Volkswagen car.
A source said, “The abductors were heavily armed.
They were about 10. They bailed up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and
asked them to lie face down.
“Immediately they saw her (the King’s wife) they
bundled her into a waiting Golf car while another car was parked outside.”
It was learnt that one of them went upstairs to
collect the woman’s handbag. The eyewitness said another maid, who sighted the
kidnappers upstairs, hid herself in the kitchen.
The atmosphere at the palace was gloomy on Sunday
as many sympathisers and well wishers, including members of the community
vigilance group, gathered to discuss the development.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Charles Muoka, who confirmed the kidnap to our correspondent on telephone on
Sunday, said the police had collected information that would be useful enough to
track down the kidnappers.
Her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo, a retired
professor of Economics, is the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku.
The kidnappers have yet to make contact with the
family of their victim.
Punch
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