Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala links $2.4bn fraud probe to mother's kidnap

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization and former Nigerian Finance Minister, has revealed that her investigation into a $2.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud led to the kidnapping of her mother.

During her tenure under former President Goodluck Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala identified suspicious increases in claims submitted by petroleum importers under Nigeria’s fuel subsidy scheme. After receiving presidential approval to audit the accounts, she discovered approximately $2.4 billion in fraudulent claims. Upon refusing to approve these disputed payments, she faced threats that culminated in the December 2012 abduction of her mother, Kamene Okonjo, from her residence in Delta State.

Okonjo-Iweala stated that the kidnappers demanded her resignation and departure from the country as a condition for her mother’s release. She described the five-day ordeal as one of the most painful periods of her life, noting that her mother was held in a forest before eventually escaping.