Tijjani Babangida, the former Super Eagles player, has lost Fadil, his one-year-old son, in a car cra§h involving his family along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, The Cable reports.
Last Thursday, Babangida was travelling with his family — Maryam, his wife, their son, and Ibrahim, his brother — and his maid when the car acc+dent occurred.
Ibrahim was said to have di3d on the spot while the other occupants in the vehicle were rushed to the hospital.
But in a recent update, Harrison Jalla, chairman of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, disclosed that Babangida’s son also di3d due to inj¥ry sustained in the acc+dent. “Yes he eventually lost the son, a one-year-old boy,” Jalla told TheCable on Sunday evening.
Babangida’s wife is also said to have lost an eye due to the severe inj¥ry to her face. She is said to be receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. It is also reported that their maid suffered a fracture in her leg.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday paid a courtesy visit to Babangida at the hospital. The delegation consoled the former Eagles player over the d£aths of his brother and son. They also prayed for a quick recovery for Babangida and his wife, “who has undergone a successful facial surgery”.
Babangida is the president of PFAN and was a member of the Nigeria U-23 team that won the gold medal in football at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
He had a decade with the Super Eagles, where he became famous for his speed down the wings. Babangida was also a member of the Eagles squad at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).