Over Finance Minister’s 82-Year-Old Mother, Soldiers Arrest 63 Suspects
Military authorities said yesterday that soldiers had arrested 63 people in Delta State during raids aimed at finding the finance minister’s 82-year-old mother, Prof Kanene Okonjo, who was kidnapped from her home on Sunday. It is not yet known whether the abduction of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mother is for political or financial gain. “Yesterday, the Four Brigade raided Ogwashi-Ukwu in search of Mama,” army spokeswoman Roseline Managbe told Reuters, adding that “those arrested are being questioned.” Criminal gangs regularly kidnap people for ransom in Nigeria, but it is rare for them to target members of the political elite. Two policemen were also arrested this week on suspicion of aiding the kidnappers of Okonjo. Managbe said two Lebanese men working for Nigerian construction company Setraco had been abducted on Tuesday in Delta State by gunmen who killed a soldier assigned to protect them. The finance minister, a campaigner against corruption, has received threats in the...