ABUJA – Ex-Nigeria coach and striker Samson Siasia has urged the Nigerian police to work around the clock to find his mother who was kidnapped.
The Super Eagles legend is still in the dark as to the whereabouts of his abducted mother, Ogere Siasia.
It is reported that the 76-year-old and two others have been held captive since they were seized in Bayelsa, south of Nigeria about 10 weeks ago, but Siasia says the police are no closer to finding her.
“The police said it’s been difficult to track these kidnappers, but my great concern is that my mother is very sick,” Siasia told BBC Sport.
“For someone who is unwell to be held against her will is not only callous but heartbreaking and sad.
“So I can only keep appealing to these guys to please let my mother go. I would like for the government or whoever is capable to help me bring my mother back.”
This comes after Siasia recently filed an appeal against a life ban for match-fixing, imposed by world football’s governing body FIFA.
It’s the second time in four years that the legend’s mother has been kidnapped after she was held by gunmen for 12 days, before her release back in November 2015.
Siasia, who represented the West African nation for over 50 times while scoring 16 goals, has had little contact with his mother but believes she is unwell.
Although the Bayelsa state police stated they are currently trying to rescue her unharmed, the former Nantes and Lokeren forward said he is a broken man who needs the support of a nation he served.
“What more can I do but plead for assistance from the government, police and my country that I served as a player and coach,” he continued.
“My mother is seriously sick and this bothers me a lot. I don’t know where or who to turn to at this point.
“I’ve not had a job for three years, battling with a Fifa ban appeal and to have my sick mother in the hands of kidnappers, I just feel extremely tired.”
Siasia is a former international after winning the 1994 CAF Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and played in their maiden World Cup appearance later that same year.
After hanging up his boots, coach Siasia led his country’s U20 and U23 sides to continental success in 2005 and 2015 respectively.
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