Nigeria’s Soccer Olympic Team Coach, Samson Siasia Begs Gunmen To Release His Abducted Aged Mother

Nigeria’s Soccer Olympic Team Coach, Samson Siasia has appealed to the gunmen that abducted his aged mother from their Odoni home in Bayelsa State, to release her unconditionally to enable him focus on qualifying the team for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Olympic Games.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also appealed to the kidnappers to free the 72-year-old Ogere Siasia, who was forcefully taken by three armed men riding motorcycles.

“Right now I am confused, from the story I got, three men on motorbike stormed my parents’ house in my village in Odoni, Bayelsa State, shot sporadically into the air before taking my old mother away on a bike.

“What do they expect from me? I don’t have money, I am right now on national duty, and needs all the time to concentrate on this very important national task. So I beg them to please release my mother so that I can concentrate on this task of qualifying the U-23 national team for the men’s football event of the Rio Olympics,” Siasia said.

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, according to media reports, described the development as “quite disturbing” coming few days before a crucial game.

“We are just preparing for a crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, and the U-23 boys are already in The Gambia for a pre-Cup of Nations training camp. Why this?

“All we can do is to appeal to the kidnappers to free Samson Siasia’s aged mother. Samson is on a critical national assignment presently and the last he needs is this kind of distraction,” he told sports website, Africanfootball.com.