The accident happened on the highway from Kaduna to Zaria. Tijjani Babangida’s wife and a maid were also in the car with the former international and were taken to a hospital in Zaria.
Babangida is conscious, according to the Nigerian Football Association. He also played for Roda JC, Vitesse and VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands and won gold with Nigeria at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Chairman of the players’ union
Babangida started his career in the Netherlands at Roda JC, where he settled in 1991. The former international also played on loan for VVV-Venlo, after which he left for Ajax in 1996. The winger, who was also loaned out to Vitesse, was under contract there until 2003. As an international player for Nigeria, he took part in the 1998 World Cup.
In recent years, Babangida was chairman of the Nigerian players’ union. News of the accident was confirmed by a former teammate, secretary Emmanuel Babayaro. ‘Comrades! Let us pray for our President, Tijani Babangida, who just suffered a horrific car accident along the Kaduna-Zaria road. Ibrahim Babangida, his younger brother, died in the process.’
Ibrahim Babangida, who played football for FC Volendam from 1997 to 2002, is 47 years old. He will be buried on Friday.
Tags: Ajax player Tijjani Babangida injured car accident Nigeria brother died
