by Colin Udoh
Football Editor, for KweséESPN
Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel faced Argentina last Tuesday in the knowledge that his father was being held for ransom, but did not tell anyone about it as the kidnappers threatened to shoot “instantly” if authorities were informed.
Mikel told KweséESPN that he received a call from the kidnappers four hours before kickoff in the decisive World Cup clash in St Petersburg, and they demanded N10 Million ($28,000 US) for the safe return of his father, Pa Michael Obi.
The elder Obi was on his way to a funeral in south eastern Nigeria from Jos when he was abducted along the Makurdi-Enugu expressway on June 26. He and his driver were rescued by police, after a “gun duel,” on July 2, nearly a week after the kidnapping.
Mikel’s father was then taken to hospital for treatment, with family sources telling KweséESPN that the elderly man had been tortured and required multiple stitches. He returned to hospital on Tuesday after some of the sutures broke, and Mikel is considering flying his father abroad for further treatment.
Mikel, speaking to KweséESPN after the rescue, said that he did not tell his bosses at the Nigeria Football Federation, nor did he tell his coach Gernot Rohr, but instead kept the situation to himself and opted to face Lionel Messi’s team as if nothing was amiss.
“I was confused. I did not know what to do, but in the end I knew that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down,” Mikel said.
“I had to shut it out of my head and go and represent my country first. I was told that they would shoot my dad instantly if I reported to the authorities or told anybody.
“And I did not want to discuss it with the coach because I did not want my issue to become a distraction to the coach or the rest of the team on the day of such an important game. So as much as I wanted to discuss it with the coach, I could not do it.”
Nigeria lost that game 2-1 to Argentina and were eliminated from the World Cup. The midfielder flew home to England almost immediately to deal with the situation, and is scheduled to return to China, where he plays his club football, later on Tuesday.
Pa Obi was eventually rescued by the Nigeria Police on Monday at Egede, near Udi in Enugu State. The news was announced by the Enugu State Police Command via their official Twitter account, and only then did Mikel speak publicly about the incident.
Command spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement on Tuesday: “The abductors started calling to demand a ransom of N10 million before police operatives acted on intelligence information and swooped on them.
“In the process of the rescue, a gun duel ensued between police operatives and the kidnappers which forced the hoodlums to abandon their victims inside the forest and they were promptly rescued.”
This was the second time that Mikel’s father had been kidnapped. The first was in 2011, where he was released after 10 days. Security will be enhanced around the player’s family in Nigeria, according to Mikel’s advisor.
