Nigerian soldier sacked over Mikel father's kidnap: official

Nigerian army authorities have dismissed one of the soldiers found guilty of the kidnapping of Chelsea footballer John Obi Mikel's father last month, an official statement said on Thursday.

"...the Nigerian Army Authority has dismissed Private Jaduwa Thlama, one of the soldiers found culpable in the kidnapping of Pa Michael Obi, the father of the Nigerian international footballer, John Mikel," said the statement.

He has been handed over to the police for prosecution, said the statement jointly issued by spokemen of security agencies in the country.

Thlama's accomplice, army Sergeant Victor Essien, has been referred to "higher prosecuting authority in line with Nigeria Army military ethics," the statement said.

Michael Obi was released last month in a Nigerian police raid.

Military authorities then said they were questioning two soldiers over the kidnap.

Describing his kidnapping to journalists after being freed on August 22, Michael Obi said he had been thrown into a van painted in military colours and beaten by men in military garb.

The police said they carried out the raid in the northern city of Kano, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from where the August 12 abduction took place in Jos, capital of central Plateau state, where Mikel's family resides.

No ransom was paid to free Obi, according to police, who said they raided a house in Kano where he was being held after receiving information from a suspect.

Obi said the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 10 million naira ($64,000, 45,000 euros).