Mother of the head coach of Nigeria’s U-23 football team, Samson Siasia has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
According to reports, the gunmen stormed the family residence of the Siasia’s in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Odoni community of Sagama Local Council Area of Bayelsa State and forcefully whisked away Siasia’s mother on a motorcycle.
Bayelsa State Police Command spokesperson, ASP Ansinim Butswat, has confirmed the incident saying that the matter has been reported, but details were still sketchy.
Speaking to the media on the incident, a distraught Siasia has expressed his confusion at the occurrence of the event.
“Right now I am confused, from the story I got, three men on motorbike stormed my parents’ house in my village Odoni in Bayelsa State, shot sporadically into the air before taking my old mother away on a bike.
“What do they expect from me? I don’t have money, I am right now on national duty, and need all the time to concentrate on this very important national task. So, I beg them to please release my mother so that I can concentrate on this task of qualifying the U-23 National Team for the men’s football event of the Rio Olympics.”
In a statement on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) website, NFF president, Amaju Pinnick has appealed to the kidnappers to release the 72 year old mother of the coach.
“This is quite disturbing. We are just preparing for a crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, and the U-23 boys are already in The Gambia for a pre-Cup of Nations training camp. Why this?
“All we can do is to appeal to the kidnappers to free Samson Siasia’s aged mother. Samson is on a critical national assignment presently and the last he needs is this kind of distraction,” Said Pinnick. As at the time of this report, it was revealed that the kidnappers are yet to demand ransom from the family.
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