Mikel Obi pleads for safe return of Abducted Father

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel appealed to kidnappers for the safe return of his father who has been abducted in Jos, Nigeria.

His father, Micheal Obi who runs an interstate transport company did not return home from work on Friday evening August 12th and has not been heard from or seen.

 

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Mikel said: "We haven't heard anything, no phone calls, nothing.

 

“I’ve always tried to help the country, this is the time for the country to help me,whoever has got my dad or knows where my dad is please contact me and hopefully he will be released. Please let him go, my dad is an old man and he hasn't done any harm to anyone as far as I know and I don't know why he has been taken.

 

"We live in a very safe and secure place in Nigeria so this is a real shock to me," said Mikel. "Me and my brother (in England) still cannot believe it.

"I don't know what to do at this point. It is very difficult for me."

Mikel said he would like to return to Nigeria but had been advised on safety and security grounds to remain in England.

Earlier, his management company The Sport Entertainment & Media Group said no ransom demand had yet been received from the kidnappers.

Chelsea said in a statement: "We will give Mikel and his family our full support at this most difficult time".

It is not the first time a relative of a Premier League player has been abducted in Nigeria after former Everton defender Joseph Yobo's brother was kidnapped in 2008.