Mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was on Sunday abducted from the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-uku, Delta State, Obi (Prof.) Chukwuka Okonjo.
Professor Kanene Okonjo, 82 years old, the queen mother of Ogwashi uku was 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 the husband travelled out of the town.
However, the police have arrested a man who allegedly left the compound few minutes before the incident took place.
The man was said to have informed the housemaid that he was in the palace to take the queen mother to somewhere in the town.
The kidnappers numbering about 10 were lurking around the palace until the woman and her maid came down to serve workers at the gate soft drinks.
Eye witness account 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.
“The abductors when they walked into the compound were heavily armed. They were about ten. They bailed up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lay face down. Immediately they saw her (the King’s wife who was coming towards the gate with her maid to serve the workers soft drinks) they bundled her into a waiting vehicle the Golf car while another car was parked outside”.
One of them, bracing all odds, went upstairs to collect the woman’s handbag. The eyewitness said another maid who sighted the kidnapper upstairs hid herself in the Kitchen.
