Mikel Obi, target of my kidnappers –Father

Obi and Mikel

Michael Obi, the septuagenarian father of Chelsea FC star, Mikel, tells his kidnap story

What was your kidnap experience like?

Each time I have had to relive the experience again, it is like a nightmare. Mine was an experience I would not wish my worst enemy to go through. I was at the mercy of the hoodlums, completely caged without the power to free myself. I was stripped bare; kept naked with nothing on me. It was a bitter experience that should not happen to any human being.

Could you relive the events before your kidnap?

I just closed from work and was on my way to the house when some soldiers in a Hilux van stopped me. I asked them what was happening. They accosted me and told me that their commander wanted to see me. I said for what?  They said after questioning me and if they found nothing, they would release me. As a good citizen and knowing that I had not committed any crime, I complied. Five of them fully armed.  With such well-armed people, there was no way I could struggle. They then drove right inside the bush going through Du in Jos- South. A very thick and desolate place; there was no main road. That was when I became afraid and started asking them questions. I asked what I had done to them to deserve the bad treatment, but there was no reply. They were just driving inside the bush, until we got to a certain point. They asked me to come down. With fear in my mind, I could not go down. Then they dragged me like a goat and threw me out of the van. They started beating me.

For how long did they beat you?

They dealt with me. In fact they beat hell out of me. They beat me as they liked; stepped on me with their boots and when they saw that I could no longer move, helpless and with no power, they threw me aside. Just then, an Opel Vectra car that followed that same track of road arrived at the scene. They said, “Papa, are you ready to comply?” I said, “Am I not with you, what power again do I have?” So they bundled me into that Vectra car with four people. They put me in the centre of two men at the back with the driver and another person in front. From that bush track, we started coming out until we got to the tarred road. I did not know the road, but it was recently constructed. They took me straight to Kano. I was happy that God was with me because the speed of the car almost killed me. It was so terrible that if there had been any slight mistake, none of us would have been alive to tell the story. When we got to Kano, they brought out a liquid substance and asked me to drink it. It was in a water container; they shook it and asked me to swallow the content. I tried to resist, but two heavy slaps landed my two cheeks in quick succession. I was forced to open my mouth and did not know when I gulped the whole thing. It was like a drug; I drank everything. Before we got to their hideout, I passed out. I did not know when we got into the house.

What happened after then?

I woke up around 10am the following day. I was not with my wristwatch because they removed everything from me. When I got up, I wondered where I was. Later, I started remembering the events of the past hours. Then it dawned on me that I had been kidnapped. When they saw me get up, their leader said, ‘Papa how are you?’ I said I was fine. The first thing he told me was that they don’t kill. I told him I did not have any money. Then they told me that they wanted my son to bring millions of dollars. They said if my son did not bring the money, the worst thing could happen. Then I told them if they could get him on the phone, they should put their request across to him. They told me they have information about him and that they would reach out to him. They said the last time my son visited Jos, they were there in my house. They said they did not want any bloodshed because they wanted to kidnap him in the house but that would mean shooting their way through. They said they came inside the compound several times to see if they could seize him, but that the atmosphere was so rowdy and it could be bloody. My son had three mobile policemen attached to him when he came to Jos. They told me that with me in their custody, they were sure he would bring the money.

At what point did they call Mikel?

They phoned him through his manager, Mr. Shittu. And he told them that he had never heard of the amount of money they were asking for. He said even the owner of Chelsea FC had never dreamt of that amount of money. They replied that Shittu was lying. They said they wanted the money urgently or they would kill me. I was listening to them. Shittu said he could not afford the amount. They refused to give me the phone to talk to Shittu. I tried to persuade them on the first day to allow me to talk with my family so that they would know that I was alive. Two days after, they opened the door abruptly and said I could talk to my son, Tony. They told me to tell Tony that they shot me on the leg. I did not say that and that earned me a heavy slap. There was a day they gave me bread with lots of sugar and it raised my blood sugar level. They said they were connected with Boko Haram and that if my family didn’t bring the money within three days, Boko Haram had ordered that I should be killed. On the fourth day, they made attempts on my life. I told them that all the pressures they were putting on me would come to nothing if they did not also allow me pressurise my son to bring the money. Then one of them dragged me and shoved me to the other side of the wall. Two days to my rescue, I started singing one of my favourite songs. Before then, I used to say my prayers silently, but that day, I decided to say a loud prayer with my song. The song was ‘I have no power of my own, I depend on you Holy Spirit of the Lord, I have no power of my own.’ Two hours after my prayers, they came in and said, “Papa, who asked you to sing that song? They said their chairman was greatly disturbed. I received another heavy slap.”

How were you rescued?

It was three days after the song. The police in Jos even attempted to arrest my son, Tony. They thought he arranged the kidnapping. From Jos, there was a special squad of about eight people and there was another eight from Kano. The squad asked my family to show them the road through which I was kidnapped. It was after this that the police were able to know the location. That day, all the kidnappers were gathered in one place. Some were inside the house and others were outside sitting at a bar. The special squad ensured that none of them escaped. One of them tried to escape, but he was pursued and arrested. The shooting was sporadic and deafening. I was just inside imagining what was happening. My thought was that the kidnappers had decided to finish me. I came face-to-face with a policeman and I started begging him. I knelt down and begged him to spare my life. I did not know his identity. He said they had come to save me. They asked me where my trousers were.

How much did they ask for?

I can’t remember now, but it ran into billions of naira when it was converted. In fact, the police commissioner asked them where they expected Mikel to get such amount from.