in the oil hub of Port Harcourt, police said Friday, in the latest
abduction targeting a prominent political family.
Osio Agama, whose sister Diezani Alison-Madueke leads Africa's largest
oil industry, was seized at gunpoint as she approached her car on
Tuesday night, River state police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad said.
Muhammad said police "were not aware if any ransom demand had been
made" and the motive for the abduction was unknown but the southern
oil-producing Niger Delta region has seen waves of ransom kidnappings
in recent years.
One of the most prominent cases came in December 2012, when Finance
Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's 82-year-old mother Kamene Okonjo was
abducted from her home, also in Delta state.
Okonjo-Iweala and Alison-Madueke are widely seen as the two most
powerful members of President Goodluck Jonathan's cabinet.
Jonathan's 70-year-old uncle was also kidnapped earlier this year in
Bayelsa state, which neighbours Delta.
Some have sought to attach a political motive to attacks targeting
Nigeria's most powerful families.
The finance minister implied that her mother was seized because of her
ministry's crackdown on oil companies which had abused the country's
rotten fuel subsidy scheme.
But such links were never proven and Kamene Okonjo was released a week
after her abduction.
The security forces and affected families almost never confirm ransom
payments but most believe kidnappers in the Niger Delta are seeking
financial gain.
Despite producing roughly two million barrels of oil per day, the area
remains acutely poor with high unemployment.
Gang activity is rampant and kidnappings have at times been
perpetrated on a near weekly basis.
Local politicians, prominent businessmen and foreigners have been
among the targets.
--Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment