While traveling from Jos in a grey Toyota Prado jeep, Pa Michael Obi and his driver, Ishaya John, were abducted in 2018 along the Markurdi-Enugu route.
The former Nigerian and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed that his father was freed from kidnappers.
He admitted that in 2018, he spent a “crazy amount of money” to free his father, Pa Michael, from the kidnapper’s hideout.
This was revealed by the football star in a conversation with Dubai Eye 103.8 Sport.
While traveling from Jos in a gray Toyota Prado jeep, Pa Michael Obi and his driver, Ishaya John, were abducted in 2018 along the Markurdi-Enugu route.
Mikel Obi, the captain of the Super Eagles, claimed in 2018 that he learned of his father’s kidnapping four hours before Nigeria’s decisive World Cup match against Argentina.
Mikel recalled getting the unexpected news while on the team bus to the St. Petersburg stadium.
He claimed that a family member had contacted and instructed him to call the kidnappers at a specific number. He was then instructed to pay a ransom.
He continued by saying that even though the news had devastated him, he had to put it behind him in order to play the game.
I had to decide whether or not I was cognitively prepared to perform while I was emotionally distressed. I was perplexed. Although I was at a loss for what to do, I ultimately realized that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down. I had to push it out of my mind in order to put my country’s interests first. Only a small group of my pals knew, and I was unable to even tell the coaches or NFF personnel.
“I was warned that if I reported them to the police or notified anyone, they would shoot my dad right away. Additionally, I did not want to address it with Coach Gernot Rohr because I did not want it to divert his attention.
because I didn’t want my problem to cause him or the rest of the team any distractions on the day of such a crucial game. Even though I really wanted to talk about it with the coach, I was unable to,” he stated.
However, a few days later, at 2:30 pm, in Enugu State’s Egede Udi woodland, the police managed to rescue them.
The kidnappers then began calling the families and demanding a N10 million ransom, but officers responding to intelligence information rushed in to capture them. The hoodlums were forced to ditch their victims inside the forest after a gunfight broke out, and they were quickly rescued, according to a statement from the police.
A courageous Mikel Obi led the Super Eagles against Argentina four hours after speaking with the abductors of his father.
We know it’s Mikel, they [the kidnappers] stated, and he would make restitution. We’re going to shoot his dad if he doesn’t. There was no risk, they claimed. My dad would be shot and dumped somewhere,” Mikel Obi claimed.
“It was awful. I called them again after the game, tried to bargain with them, and chatted with them. To begin with, they were calling for an absurdly high price, and in the end, I still had to pay an absurdly high price to free my father.
I still go through that nowadays. I was required to speak to the guys on the phone even when I experienced flashbacks. He was being held at gunpoint. They threatened to shoot him and murder him. Although I’ve kept it a secret from them, a few months back when they looked at my phone, they saw the news about it. Naturally, I haven’t informed them about it as they are just 7-year-olds, but I will be able to tell them the story when they are older,” he stated.