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Nigerian captain John Obi Mikel revealed that his father, Pa Michael Obi, had been kidnapped prior to the Super Eagles World Cup match against Argentina last Tuesday, but he Refrained from telling anyone. Ex-Chelsea told ESPN that he had received a phone call from the kidnappers a few hours before the match was sent to St. Petersburg, and that he had been asked to to pay N10 million ($ 28,000 USD) in exchange for his father's life. UTOMI EKPEI / GettyImages
The kidnappers also threatened to fire immediately if the police were made aware.
The player's father was on his way to an interment in southeastern Nigeria on June 26th. But the Nigerian police have since confirmed that the eldest Obi and his driver were rescued after a shootout with the kidnappers on July 2, a week later.
Mikel did not inform his coach or anyone else of the team before the match "I did not know what to do, but I knew that I could not drop 180 million Nigerians," he said. he says.
to tear me off and go represent my country first, it was said that they would immediately shoot my father if I reported to the authorities or if I said it to anyone.
"And I did not want to discuss it with the coach because I did not want my problem to be a distraction for the coach or the rest of the team on the day. Such an important match, even though I wanted to discuss it with the coach, I could not do it. "
His father, meanwhile, was hospitalized as a result of torture, he also needed several stitches, but he is probably grateful
It was actually the second time that Mikel's father was kidnapped, with the first kidnapping occurring in 2011. The counselor of Mikel said security would increase around the player's family in Nigeria.
Tags Argentina clashes father John kidnapped Mikel Nigeria Obi reveals
