Mother of Nigerian official kidnapped

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OGBE-OFU, Nigeria, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- About eight kidnappers abducted the mother of Nigerian Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from her home in Ogbe-Ofu, Delta State, police said.

Dr. Kamene Okonjo was taken from her home Sunday while her husband was out of town, the Nigerian newspaper, Leadership reported.

Workers who were renovating her house at the time were held up by the armed kidnappers but no one was injured, police said.

"The abductors were heavily armed when they walked into the compound," a witness said. "They held up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lie face down."

Okonjo was immediately put into a waiting car and driven off by the kidnappers, Vanguard reported.

Police said they have information that will lead to the arrest of the kidnappers but declined to give a timeline out of fear for Okonjo's safety.

Olorogun Kenneth Gbadi, former minister of state for education, told Vanguard "people are now fleeing from their homes" because of the fear of kidnappers.

"I will ask my brother and governor of the state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to pay more attention to the menace of kidnappers in the state and stop treating the matter with kid gloves," he said.

A motive for the kidnapping was not reported.