AllAfrica.com is reporting that the mother of Nigeria’s finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been released. Professor Kamene Okonjo, 83, was abducted on Sunday by ten gunmen who stormed the palace of her husband, Professor Chukuka Okonjo who is a traditional ruler in Delta State.
BBC News Africa is reporting that Prof. Okonjo was dropped off on a main road near her home in southern Nigeria. Apparently, she had received threats leading up to the kidnapping, which are popular in Nigeria and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
Details of the release are not being shared. While it is government policy not to pay ransoms, some families negotiate privately with kidnappers. It is not clear if a ransom was paid for Prof. Okonjo’s release. The driver of the car that dropped off Okonjo has been arrested.
The details of this story are still unfolding.
Read more at AllAfrica.com or BBC News Africa.
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