Everton offers Yobo its support

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Everton football club has offered its support to player Joseph Yobo, whose brother has been kidnapped in Nigeria.

Norum Yobo was seized at a hotel in Port Harcourt by gunmen. No group has yet claimed responsibility and no ransom has been demanded.

Everton said it would do all it could to help Joseph Yobo, who is on holiday in Lagos.

Kidnappings, frequent in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of the country, have usually ended with a ransom payment.

Everton spokesman Ian Ross said everyone connected with the club was thinking about Yobo, 27, and his family.

"Can only hope"

"We have sent a couple of messages to Joseph offering any assistance that we can provide him," he said.

Yobo had been given leave to return late to pre-season training because of his international duties for Nigeria but is now expected to stay there for the foreseeable future.

Mr Ross said: "Things like this put football and life in perspective. The thoughts of the players, management, staff, fans and everyone connected to Everton FC are with Joseph and his family at this time.

"We can only hope that Joseph's brother is released without harm."

Rivers State police spokeswoman Rita Inoma-Abbey told BBC Sport an investigation had been carried out at the hotel where Norum Yobo was seized.

"We have not heard anything yet from Mr Norum or the kidnappers but we will make a statement available as soon as we can establish contact with them," she said.

The family has confirmed the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning but otherwise declined to comment.

BBC Sport reporter Oluwashina Okeleji in Nigeria says kidnappings - more often of oil workers - have become a common occurrence in the south of Nigeria.

Although Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and the bulk of that oil comes from the Niger Delta area, the region remains deeply impoverished, he says.