The Nigeria Football Federation has condoled Super Eagles’ deputy captain, Ahmed Musa, on the death of his mother, Sarah Moses, on Thursday afternoon.
Mrs Moses died at a hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, after a brief illness.
The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, said the generality of Nigerian football fraternity was taken aback by the death.
“This is a huge shock. It is always a thing of grief and pain to lose either of one’s parents, no matter how old they were before they passed on. We share in Ahmed Musa’s sorrow at this period and we pray that God will enable him to muster the courage and give him the fortitude to bear the loss. We also pray for the repose of the soul of the departed.
“Ahmed Musa has always shown a high level of dedication and patriotism in all the matches he has played for Nigeria. Everyone is in sympathy with him at this period.”
On a day that Nigerian ball fans were happy that Super Eagles’ captain, Mikel Obi had secured a return to England having agreed terms with Championship side Middlesbrough, came the sad news of the passing of his deputy’s mother.
NFF Promises Security During Funeral Rites
The electrifying forward, thenff.com learnt, was on his way to Jos, Plateau State on Thursday night to brief family members and commence preparations for his mother’s final rites of passage.
NFF president, Mr Pinnick, added: “I have spoken to the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Barr. Solomon Dalung, who directed that I should ensure that the player was provided with adequate security at this period, especially his night movement to Jos. With the assistance of the minister, I was able to get across to security operatives in Jos and they assured me of adequate security for Ahmed.”
Ahmed Musa remains Nigeria’s highest goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup, having scored four goals in each of the last two finals (2014 and 2018). He was also a member of the Super Eagles’ squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in 2013.
He had been the Super Eagles’ on-field captain since the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He led the team to earn qualification to this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals with a match to spare.