Professor Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is dead.

The scholar and matriarch of the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family died on Friday at the age of 96.

She was also the mother of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, Obi (Dr) Ifechukwude Anishi Okonjo II, and the wife of the late Obi (Professor) Chukwuka Okonjo, the immediate past traditional ruler of the kingdom.

The royal family announced her passing in a statement issued on Sunday by the palace secretary, Prince Ifeakanachukwu Emordi.

The family described the late professor as an exceptional woman whose life was marked by academic excellence, humility, compassion and a strong commitment to improving the lives of others.

Kamene Okonjo was an internationally recognized sociologist who made notable contributions to scholarship and the advancement of women.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala revealed how her investigation into an alleged $2.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud led to threats against her and the kidnapping of her mother.

The WTO chief explained that the discovery of irregularities in the country’s fuel subsidy programme prompted her to seek an audit of the payments being made to fuel importers.

She explained that the decision triggered threats against her, with the situation escalating when her mother was kidnapped.

The former finance minister disclosed that her mother’s abductors demanded that she resign from her position and leave Nigeria in exchange for her mother’s release.