Nigerian football player Chinedu Udoji dies in car accident
The Kano Pillars defender suffered a car crash on Sunday night. The accident happened a few hours after a league game against Enyimba, his former club.
Kano Pillars defender Chinedu Udoji has passed away after being involved in a car crash on Sunday night. He was 28 years old.
The accident happened a few hours after a league game against Enyimba International F.C., his former club. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Nigerian Premier League side confirmed the tragic news on their official Twitter account on Monday.
Udoji spent seven years with Enyimba, where he won the Nigerian Premier League in 2010 and 2015 and the Nigerian FA Cup in 2013 and 2014.
The defender moved to Kano Pillars in 2016.
Udoji is survived by his parents, wife and two children.
"May his soul rest in peace"
Enyimba, whose name means the "People’s Elephants" in the Igbo language, offered their condolences on Twitter.
Felix Anyansi-Agwu, Enyimba’s chairman, added that he was a "ferocious captain and leader on the pitch, but a warm and gentle friend off it."
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) also expressed their condolences.
"The demise of Kano Pillars defender Chinedu Udoji comes as a rude shock to us this morning," wrote the NFF on their official Twitter account. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and club.
"May his soul rest in peace."
Udoji is the second African footballer to lose his life in a car accident in recent days. South Africa’s Polokwane City defender Mogau Trinity Tshela passed away in a motor vehicle accident last week.