Kidnappers abduct ex-footballer’s father, demand N50m

Kidnappers have seized the 83-year-old father of a former Super Eagles player, Chikelue Iloenyosi, in Njikoka Local Government, Anambra State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim, James Iloenyosi, was on his way back from the church on Monday when he was abducted by the assailants.

A family source said the kidnappers blocked Chikelue father’s car and then put him into another car before speeding off.

He said, “On Monday, Pa Iloenyosi (James) was driving home from morning Mass when some men in a Toyota Camry blocked his Peugeot 504 and pulled him out of his vehicle. They subsequently put him inside their own vehicle and sped off.

“After organising a search party without success, we called his son on the telephone to inform him of the development.

“The following day, the kidnappers called us with the victim’s telephone and demanded N50m ransom. Family members have been trying to negotiate with them but they have refused to collect anything less.”

When our correspondent contacted Chikelue on the telephone, he confirmed the development.

He said, “I received a telephone call from the village that my father had been kidnapped. Later we were able to recover his vehicle, but my father’s telephone was switched off for the rest of the day. It was the following day that the kidnappers called with their demand.”

He said the family was still meeting to plan the next cause of action, while negotiation was ongoing with the kidnappers.

The former Nigerian defender said the incident was more painful as his father’s twin brother had only recently died.

“We have been begging these kidnappers but they have been threatening to kill my father if we did not pay. That money is just too much,” he said.

Source: Punch