An Argentine who was held captive for 3 days after being kidnapped in Machagu, Niger State has disclosed how the mentioning of Lionel Messi saved him.
28-year old agricultural engineer, Santiago Lopez Menendez, was held captive for 3 days after being kidnapped last week Wednesday in Machagu, Niger State while on the Mokwa to Kontagora road.
He has been working in Nigeria since last year, planting soya and corn crops close to Kontagora. He was beaten violently by his captors, who hardly spoke any English and thought he was north American.
It was then in desperation that Menendez tried to tell them he was Argentine and he was eventually able to calm down his aggressors with repeated cries of "Messi, Messi, Messi".
He was eventually released after his company paid an undisclosed ransom to the kidnappers. Back in Argentina, his brother Jorge said while on the phone with Menendez, he said: "Tell them I am grateful to Messi. Naming him is what saved me." He is now safe and will return to Argentina in the next few hours.