Crime News:The Kidnappers of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's mother have been arrested.

Two people confessed to have masterminded the kidnapping of 83 years old Prof. Kamene Okonjo, the mother of Nigeria Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; who was kidnapped and released last December after collecting the sum of N13m as ransom.

A former servant at the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, where the 83 years old was kidnapped, gave out the necessary information for the kidnapping. The suspect, Chiejine Onochie, said, "I'm 32 years old and i worked in the palace from 2007 to 2012 after which i left because the pay was too little. A friend of mine approached me and told me that i could make a lot of money if i gave kidnappers information on how to get into the palace. However, after the operation, i did not get a dime. It was later that i learnt that they had collected N13m as ransom. I felt cheated and i left everything to God. I cannot be held for the crime because when the police started arresting people, i went to report at the station voluntarily, i was not dragged to the station." 

Jideofor Ogbue aka Marvelous, another suspect who claimed to be the leader of the gang, said after gaining entrance into the palace, he and his gang did not force Okonjo out of the palace, but she followed the willingly after they told her that they were sent by President Goodluck Jonathan. 

The 22 years old said, "It was my friend, Ifeanyi, that informed me about the operation. On the day of the kidnap, we had no difficulty because Onochie had told us that the security around the palace was lax. Although, twelve of us were involved in the operation but only eight of us went to the palace. wWe went with three AK27 rifles and a pump-action rifle. When the woman saw us, she asked who we were and we told her that President Goodluck Jonathan sent us from Abuja to arrest her because her daughter Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had embezzled public funds.

We took her to Kwale and her family paid N13m as ransom. They package the money in polythene bags and dropped it around an expressway in Benin. My share was N2m"

Chukwuma Okoh, another suspect who claimed to be a graduate of Accounting and Finance from Ambrose Ali University, said he joined the gang because of unemployment. He said he was not given any money after the operation. "I'm 31 years old and i graduated in 2007. Since then, it has been hard to get a decent job. It was Onochie that brought the idea of kidnapping Okonjo-Iweala's mother. However, as God is my witness, i did not receive a dime from the gang after the operation"

The commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Umar Manko, identified other members of the gang as Michael Ojeabulu. Endurance Oke, Ibrahim Abubakar, Buhari Hamadora and Hassan Oseni.

While parading the suspects, Manko said the suspects were arrested in different states comprising of Edo, Enugu, Delta and Anambra.

The police boss said "contrary to reports, kidnapping is not on the rise in Lagos. Marvelous was arrested in Port harcourt after he had perfected plans to kidnap the commissioner of commerce in Anambra State. As you can see, these kidnappers do not operate in Lagos, they just come and go. You therefore cannot say kidnapping is on the rise in Lagos."