List of three Nigerians who died while watching AFCON semi- final

There have been reports of people who died as a result of the heartbreaking match between Super Eagles of Nigeria and Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

Recall that Nigeria beat South Africa yesterday (Wednesday) 4- 2 to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.

FTN gathered  that a number of persons have been reported to have slumped and died watching the unforgettable football semi- final.

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1.Cairo Ojougboh

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former member of the House of Representatives, who represented the Ika federal constituency of Delta State, Cairo Ojougboh, is dead.

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It was gathered that the outspoken politician died on Wednesday night while watching the AFCON 2023 semi-final match between Nigeria and South Africa.

A source privy to the incident informed LEADERSHIP on Ojougboh’s demise, “As soon as a penalty kick was awarded against Nigeria during the AFCON match with South Africa on Wednesday’s semi-final clash in Bouake, Ivory Coast, he slumped.”

2. Alhaji Ayuba Abdullahi

The Deputy Bursar of Kwara State University Malete, Alhaji Ayuba Abdullahi, on Wednesday night, died while watching the semi-finals between Nigeria and South Africa in the ongoing AFCON.

Nigeria won the match against South Africa by 4-2 goals on penalties after regulation and extra time ended 1-1.

Sources close to the deceased but who spoke on condition of anonymity said Abdullahi went to a sports centre in the Sango area before he started feeling uneasy.

One of the sources said, “The Deputy Bursar watched the Nigeria/South Africa match from the beginning till the end of the extra time, till it was time for a penalty kick.

“He complained that he was feeling dizzy, so he said he needed to go back home and rest not knowing that his BP had gone up.

“On getting home, he collapsed and was rushed to a private hospital in Sango and he was referred to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and before he could be attended to, he died.

“He was buried on Thursday morning according to Islamic rites.”

3. Corps member

A member of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, slumped and died during the penalty shootout stage of the match between Nigeria and South Africa, Wednesday evening.

It was gathered that the youth, identified simply as Samuel from Kaduna State, who was serving in Adamawa, died just before the last kick that ensured Nigeria’s progress to the final of the African Cup of Nations.