On December 2012, Dr Okonjo-Iweala's mother Kamene Okonjo, a retired professor, was abducted by armed gunmen in Delta State but later released unharmed after five days. It is believed that the family paid a ransom to secure her release but the kidnappers made contact with Mrs Okonjo's husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo Agbogidi, a retired professor of economics, who is the traditional ruler of the Ogwashi-Uku kingdom in Delta State.
In an interview published in French newspaper Le Monde yesterday, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said her fight against corruption was at the root of the kidnapping, with the abductors demanding her resignation on live television. She added that it was her insistence that the Jonathan administration stand up to corrupt practices that were behind her family's traumas.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala added: “In my first experience as minister, I wrote a book, Reforming the Unreformable but second time around, it was really difficult. Nigeria subsidises fuel which costs about $6.7bn but of that, we found that $1.5bn was fraudulent.
“One importer claimed that his boat was waging its oil while it was actually at the other end of the world, according to maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register Marine. I told the president that we would stop paying but what happened, they kidnapped my mother and during the first three days, their only demand was my resignation as I was supposed to go on television and announce my resignation."
She added that in a country like Nigeria, in the fight against corruption, people must be prepared to pay a personal price. According to Dr Okonjo-Iweala said her father asked her not to resign as did President Jonathan and everyone then began looking for her mother and the kidnappers subsequently released her.
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