Kidnappers have seized the
83-year-old father of a former Super Eagles player, Chikelue Iloenyosi (former
husband of Nollywood actress,Stephanie Okereke), in Njikoka Local Government,
Anambra State.
It 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.
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Society