Mikel father’s car found, kidnappers contact family

Mikel Obi

The kidnappers of Mr. Michael Obi, father of Chelsea star Mikel Obi, have made contact with the family. Mr Obi, a retired civil servant, who runs a transport company in the city of Jos was abducted on Friday evening, and has not been seen since.

On Tuesday the police made a general appeal to the public for information that could help solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance. But later on Tuesday it was alleged that the family had received two calls from the kidnappers, who first warned them that Obi senior had been taken out of Jos.

“They called mummy (Mikel’s mother) and told her that we should not bother looking for Daddy in Jos because he had been taken to Lagos,” a family source informed KickOffNigeria.com.

A few hours later a second call came in, giving the family the location of the car which Mr Obi was driving when he went missing. Tony, the eldest of the Obi children, allegedly confirmed to KickOffNigeria.com that the car was found in Jos, but declined to say where.

But despite the report, Mikel’s mother denied that the family had received any call from anybody claiming to be the abductor. She, however, confirmed that her husband’s car had been seen but that the discovery was based on a tip-off from an informant.

“Somebody who had an idea of the make of the car contacted us. And based on that information people were sent out to the spot and confirmed the information to be correct. That is the much that has happened and that’s the much we can say for now until tomorrow,” she said.

The car was seen around Kwali Falls in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.

After the appeal made by the Plateau State Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Dipo Ayeni, our correspondent who visited the family home could not obtain any photograph of him for publication. The plea that the picture and more information released to the public as to the make of his car and other details could be of great help was turned down. On Monday, several friends of the family cordoned off the family home, making it impossible for journalists to gain access to the house.

Mikel pleaded on Monday for his father’s kidnappers to free him, begging, “Please just let him go.”