by Isi Esene

The gunmen who kidnapped 87-year-old Ali Shettima Monguno in Maiduguri, Borno state, on Friday have reportedly asked for ransom for his release.

The former minister was abducted while leaving the mosque in the Mafoni Quarters, Maiduguri where he had gone to observe the Jum’at prayers.

[READ: Former minister, Shettima Ali Monguno kidnapped in Maiduguri]

Reports say the gunmen ordered those with the 87-year-old man to disembark from the Peugeot car he was travelling in before whisking him away.

While speaking to newsman on the phone about his father’s abduction, Monguno’s first son, Abubakar Ali Monguno said the abductors have asked for an undisclosed amount of money as ransom for his release.

“The abductors got in touch and they put my father through on the phone. He spoke to us and said that he was fine. They made a ransom demand,” Abubakar told AFP but declined to give a figure.

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Monguno was among Borno elders who asked President Goodluck Jonathan to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members and withdraw soldiers from the streets in the state as part of the effort to restore peace to the area.

Shettima Ali Monguno served as Nigeria’s oil minister in the 1970s and held the rotating presidency of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1972. An educationalist, Monguno is a Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).

Update: Mr. Monguno’s age has been corrected.