The traditional ruler has not yet returned to the town.
The Traditional Council in Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State has met over Sunday’s abduction of Kamene Okonjo, wife of the traditional ruler of the community, Chukwuka Okonjo, and mother of Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Led by the Iyase of the town, Collins Afuwa, the council met on Wednesday, at the palace of the monarch.
The closed-door meeting, which began at about 11 a.m. had Onyema Okonjo, one of the children of the abducted woman, in attendance.
While the meeting was on, heavily armed officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, and soldiers who were drafted to the palace soon after the abduction of Mrs. Okonjo were put on guard around the premises.
A source at the palace said that Wednesday’s meeting was the first by the palace chiefs after the incident, adding, however, that some of the chiefs had visited the palace, individually, after the kidnap.
It was not possible to speak with Onyema Okonjo, the only member of the family who has been around since Monday, as he declined comments, saying “Sorry, I don’t want to talk”.
A palace source however volunteered information.
“You know the king himself is not around, otherwise the chiefs would have been with him every day, consulting and having series of meeting.”
“In spite of that, they still needed to meet over the matter and that is why they are meeting now but nobody will discuss the outcome of the meeting,” the source said.
It was uncertain when the traditional ruler, who travelled on Saturday, would return as an earlier indication by his son, Onyema, that he might return on Monday, failed.
However, the palace neighbourhood and the entire Ogwashi-Uku community had remained calm since the incident, with no reported cases of harassment by security operatives.
The Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, had promised that the victim would be rescued in 24 hours; it is over 48 hours since he made the statement.
The police have also denied that the abductors demanded a ransom of N1 billion
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