Jon Obi Mikel..

His father was kidnapped in Nigeria. He played well yesterday too.

wtf? any update?

He made an appeal for info on SSN a while ago.

Brave lad.

Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has appealled for the return of his father, who has been abducted in Nigeria.

Michael Obi has not been seen or heard from since he failed to return home from work on Friday in Jos.

"John Mikel Obi's father was abducted in Nigeria on Friday," SEM Group said on Twitter.

"I've always tried to help the country, this is the time for the country to help me, whoever knows where my dad is should please contact me," Mikel said.

The player was told before Sunday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Stoke City, but decided to play.

"I said I would like to play, I wouldn't want to let the club down and if I didn't play that game I think my mum would be very sad, she told me to go out there and be strong and make sure I do well in the game," the 24-year-old told Sky Sports News.

"I don't think my team-mates know, I told [Didier] Drogba today [Monday] and [Salomon] Kalou who is a good friend, I didn't want everyone coming up and saying sorry."


SEM said no ransom demand had yet been received but Mikel admitted his father's famous son was likely to be known by any potential kidnappers.

"I think they do know, my family have lived there all their lives so they will know who he is and who I am," he said.

"This happens a lot in the eastern part of Nigeria but my dad would probably be the first this has happened to in the northern part which is a very safe place, this is very rare and is surprising everyone."

His family told the BBC that they have had no contact with Obi senior but believe he is "safe and well".

The Chelsea player's agent John Ola Shittu said that everybody in the family remains hopeful.

"It's been tough for the young man," Shittu said.

"The family in Jos reported him missing at the police station as expected but we're taking all necessary measures to find him."

"We've told him to be brave and to stay calm."

Shittu said the family has also not heard from anyone claiming to hold Obi senior.
Continue reading the main story

It's been tough for the young man, we've told him to stay calm
John Ola Shittu
John Mikel Obi's agent

Kidnappings - more often of oil workers, the rich and famous - are a common occurrence in Nigeria.

Footballers and their families are increasingly being targetted.

In July 2008, the elder brother of Nigerian and Everton defender Joseph Yobo was seized in Port Harcourt, where kidnappings for ransom are most frequent.

It was not clear if a ransom was paid but Nornu Yobo was released after being held for almost two weeks.

Nigeria - Kidnappers who abducted the father of Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel contacted his family on Wednesday requesting a 20 million naira ($130,000) ransom for his release, Nigerian police said.
Police were contacted on Friday after Mikel's father Michael, who runs a transport company, failed to return to his home in the central Nigerian town of Jos.
Apev Jacob, a spokesman for the local police, said they had found his father's car abandoned but did not disclose the location.
Jacob gave no further details on how ransom negotiations were progressing and Mikel's family declined to comment. Mikel is understood to earn more than $100,000-a-week.
The 24-year-old Nigeria international played in Sunday's English Premier League season-opening 0-0 draw at Stoke City despite knowing his father was abducted on Friday.
He has publicly pleaded for his safe return.
"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," Mikel told Sky Sports in an interview on Monday.
It is not the first time a relative of a Premier League player has been abducted in Nigeria, where most people live on less than $2 a day, after former Everton defender Joseph Yobo's brother was kidnapped in 2008.
Kidnapping of oil workers in the southern Niger Delta has been relatively common in the past but abductions have begun spreading further north.

At least its reasonable demand but they still need to be gutted.

The father of Chelsea and Nigeria star John Mikel Obi has been found alive in the Nigerian city Kano.

Michael Obi was last seen on 12 August in the city of Jos, where his car was found last Wednesday.

Obi Senior told the BBC that he had been kidnapped in Jos before being transferred to Kano.

"I am very stressed," he said.

His abductors are now in police custody in the northern Nigerian city.

The BBC's Yusuf Ibrahim Yakasai says Michael Obi's face shows signs of the beatings that he says he endured during his ordeal.

The player's management company confirmed the news on Monday evening.

"Earlier today Michael Obi called his family to advise them that he had been released by his abductors," Sport Entertainment & Media Group (SEM) said in a statement.

"SEM have waited until now to release this information, to ensure that Michael was safe.

"John Obi Mikel would like to thank everyone in Nigeria, his family and friends, Chelsea FC and their fans and his agents for their total support during this terrible time."

During the time of his father's disappearance, Mikel continued playing for Chelsea - starting matches against both Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.

"I wouldn't want to let the club down and if I didn't play that game I think my mum would be very sad," the 24-year-old said after playing against Stoke.

On Friday, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas hailed the "amazing mental toughness" shown by the midfielder in the wake of his father's kidnapping.

Nice one