A crazy story has emerged on Tuesday from the 2018 World Cup via ESPN.
Nigeria exited the World Cup after a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in their final group game.
Leo Messi and Marcos Rojo scored the crucial goals for the Argentines, while Victor Moses scored a penalty for Nigeria.
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel was named the Super Eagles captain against the South Americans. Mikel played the 90 minutes for Nigeria against Argentina.
Obi Mikel also started both games against Iceland and Croatia.
It’s now come to light that John Obi Mikel’s dad was kidnapped just before the Argentina game.
Ransom & death threat
The situation around the kidnapping of John Obi Mikel’s dad was grave.
The kidnappers demanded money from the footballer, while also threatening to kill his dad if Obi Mikel leaked the news to anyone. ESPN reported the following harrowing information:
Mikel told KweséESPN that he received a call from the kidnappers four hours before kickoff in the decisive World Cup clash in St Petersburg, and they demanded N10 Million ($28,000 US) for the safe return of his father, Pa Michael Obi.
The elder Obi was on his way to a funeral in south eastern Nigeria from Jos when he was abducted along the Makurdi-Enugu expressway on June 26. He and his driver were rescued by police, after a “gun duel,” on July 2, nearly a week after the kidnapping.
John Obi Mikel’s dad was “tortured”, reported ESPN. He required medical care and multiple stitches.
Obi Mikel has since spoken about his ordeal.
Remarkably, he never told anyone in the Nigeria squad about his situation:
I was confused. I did not know what to do, but in the end I knew that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down.
I had to shut it out of my head and go and represent my country first. I was told that they would shoot my dad instantly if I reported to the authorities or told anybody.
And I did not want to discuss it with the coach because I did not want my issue to become a distraction to the coach or the rest of the team on the day of such an important game.
The Enugu State Police Command confirmed the rescue of Obi Mikel’s dad on their Twitter account.
Our men have rescued Pa Michael Obi, the father of the Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi.
He was kidnapped along Markurdi – Enugu expressway but we rescued him today 2nd July, 2018 around 14:00hrs at Egede in Udi LGA of Enugu State.He is hale and hearty.
— EnuguStatePolice (@PoliceNG_Enugu) July 2, 2018
