Octogenarian and former Nigerian oil minister, Shettima Ali Monguno, who was kidnapped last Friday by gunmen in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, a stronghold of Islamist group Boko Haram, was released on Monday, police said.
“I can confirm that Shettima Ali Monguno has been released today by his abductors,” Borno State police commissioner, Abdullahi Yuguda said.
A security source who requested anonymity said the kidnappers were paid 50 million naira ($318,000, 242,766 euros), but the police chief declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the release.
No group has claimed the abduction, but analysts have said that Boko Haram has increasingly turned to ransom payments to finance its insurgency, notably by kidnapping wealthy individuals around Maiduguri.
Criminal groups have also carried out attacks under the guise of Boko Haram.
Monguno, 87, served as Nigeria’s oil minister in the 1970s and held the rotating presidency of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1972.
He was among a group of elders who met President Goodluck Jonathan in Maiduguri in March to discuss the Boko Haram crisis.
He has repeatedly called for dialogue with the militant group and urged Jonathan to reduce the massive security deployment in the city and ease a curfew forcing all residents to stay indoors after sundown. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Shettima, Allah ya kara maka lafiya, kuma ya tona asirin wadanda sukayi wannan danye aiki. Amin
ReplyDeleteAMIN Salim.
ReplyDeletePlanned work between Shetima and Boko Haram in order to make money for Boko Haram, why is it that they did not kidnap someone who is against them but someone who is supporting them
ReplyDeleteAsk them!
DeleteA confirmation that BH has no agenda but sent to make peace elude the country. The lion is now out of the gage and is devouring everyone including the owners
Deletena wa ya o
ReplyDelete