Kidnapping: Mikel Obi appeals to father’s abductors:”please get in touch”

Mikel  Obi has appealed to his father’s abductors in Jos, Plateau State  Nigeria telling them to get in touch so that  they can explain their grudges.

“My message to whoever has my dad is please contact me so we can get him released. He is an old man and hasn’t done any harm to anyone.”

He was reacting to the news which has been widely published since last Saturday that his father had been abducted by kidnappers in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Speaking over the kidnapping saga for the first time, Mikel, who featured for his team, Chelsea  last Saturday claimed he got the message just as he prepared for the weekend duel against Stokes.

Mikel, 24, said: “I got the message on Saturday afternoon after training when the manager sent for me.

“He told me there was asituation and said my dad was missing. My family didn’t want me to know until after the game but the manager wanted to tell me.

“He asked me if I wanted to play still and that was where it started from.

“At this point, we haven’t heard anything. There’s been no phone calls and my dad’s phone is not receiving calls.”

Michael, who runs a transport company, has not been seen or heard from since he failed to return home from work in Jos, the capital of Plateau State in central Nigeria.

Mikel added: “Jos is a very safe place, there’s never been situations like this and it is very rare.

“People in Nigeria do know who my dad is and that I’m a footballer, definitely.

“It was really difficult for me to play against Stoke but I told the manager I didn’t want to let the team, my club or my family down.

“If I didn’t play, I think my mum would have been very sad. She told me to go out there and play.

“My team-mates don’t really know what is going on, although I’ve told Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou now.

“My message to whoever has my dad is please contact me so we can get him released. He is an old man and hasn’t done any harm to anyone.”

Mikel’s agent John Ola Shittu said: “He is totally devastated. We were not sure whether to tell him before the game.

“But after speaking to Andre Villas-Boas we agreed that he had a right to be informed of such a serious incident.

Mikel played 90 minutes in Sunday’s goalless draw at Stoke despite earlier reports that the pressure of his kidnapped father could be denying him the psychological fitness to feature in the game.

His father Michael was seized on Friday by kidnappers but the player insisted on playing in his club’s Barclays Premier League opener at the Britannia Stadium.

In a statement, Mikel’s representatives Sport Entertainment and Media Group said: ‘SEM confirms that client John Mikel Obi’s father was abducted in Nigeria on Friday, August 10.

It had been earlier reported that the Chelsea midfielder  would get the permission  to miss the club’s game with West Brom on Sunday  weekend, as he coped with the pressure of his father’s state of health, following his kidnapping.
Mikels father, Michael Obi has not been seen since failing to return home from work, where he runs an inter-state transport company, on Friday.

Police in Jos, the capital of Nigeria’s Plateau state, have been informed, and, although no ransom demands have yet been received, Mikel’s management company has confirmed that he has been abducted.

The club released a statement that it was ‘very concerned’ at the news of the abduction, before adding that it will be giving Mikel its ‘full support’, which will give him the option to take time out from his first-team duties.

Mikel’s agent, John Ola Shittu, said that his client is ‘devastated’ to hear of his father’s disappearance, and he was informed of the situation shortly before taking part in Chelsea’s game against Stoke on Sunday.

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