Former Nigerian minister, Shettima Ali Monguno, has been kidnapped in troubled Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Mr. Monguno, 92, was kidnapped by gunmen as he left the mosque after Jumat prayers on Friday, in the Mafoni Ward area of the city.
Mr. Monguno is a vocal and influential politician and educationist.
The reasons for his kidnap is yet unclear. But the Joint Military Task Force keeping peace in the region had warned earlier in the week that the extremist Boko Haram sect had plans to embark on kidnappings for ransom.
Reacting to the kidnap of the former minister, a journalist, Abdulrafiu Lawal, who knows Mr. Monguno well, said the abduction was an indication that Nigeria had lost its values.
Mr. Lawal said, “Shettima Ali Monguno has done so much for Borno and Nigeria as the country’s first petroleum minister who pioneered oil exploration in the Chad basin.
“He retired from public service many years ago,sold his house in Abuja to build a female hostel for University of Maiduguri about seven years ago.
“The only house he has now is the present one near Government House Maiduguri. He also donated all his books to the Borno state library about nine years ago.
“He awards scholarship annually to students in the state, a thing state governments and politicians have only struggled to do.
“Does this harmless elder statesman who served his fatherland selflessly deserved this kind of treatment? We have lost our values.”
CORRECTION: Borno state government has informed Premium Times that Mr. Munguno’s actual age is 92, not 87 as earlier reported.
Source: Premium Times
UPDATE: Ali Monguno’s kidnappers contact family
The attendees at the meeting did not speak to the press.
The kidnappers of 92-year-old Northern leader and former Nigerian Minister, Shettima Ali Monguno, have contacted the family and made demands, a top security official has said.
The official said after the initial contact earlier in the day, the kidnappers are yet to follow-up on their demand and are still holding on to the Nonagenarian as at 10:00 p.m.
He declined to state what the kidnappers demand were.
Mr. Monguno was kidnapped after the Friday Jumat prayer in the afternoon in Maiduguri, the Borno capital.
Meanwhile Borno elders concluded their meeting with the state governor and security chiefs in Borno on Friday evening without any statement to the press.
The elders, led by Ambassador Gaji Galtimari met with Governor Kashim Shettima, his deputy and other top security officials at Mr. Monguno’s family home adjacent the Borno Government House in Maiduguri.
No statement was released after the meeting which was focused solely on securing an early release of Mr. Monguno, although unconfirmed reports say part of the resolutions reached was that anything possible, including payment of ransom, should be done to secure the victim’s release.
No group has admitted kidnapping the Borno elder; although kidnapping for ransom by the insurgent Boko Haram has been on the rise in the state.
Source: Premium Times
