Former Nigerian Finance Minister and World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has revealed how an investigation into an alleged $2.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud led to threats against her and the kidnapping of her mother.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua, Okonjo-Iweala explained that she became concerned after subsidy claims submitted by fuel importers increased sharply. She said she approached the president for approval to audit the accounts, and the investigation uncovered what she described as about $2.4 billion in fraud. The government subsequently refused to pay the disputed claims.

Okonjo-Iweala said the decision was followed by threats, and her mother was kidnapped and held for five days. According to her account, the abductors demanded that she resign and leave Nigeria in exchange for her mother’s release. Her mother eventually escaped from captivity in a forest and is now 96 years old. Okonjo-Iweala described the experience as one of the most painful ordeals of her life.

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