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‘I’ll live with this trauma all my life’ — Tijjani Babangida on losing family in car accident

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Tijjani Babangida, former Super Eagles winger, has opened up on losing his family in a car accident that happened in early 2024.

 

The ex-footballer spoke in an emotional documentary released by Ajax Amsterdam, his former club, on Thursday.

 

On May 9, Babangida was travelling with Ibrahim, his younger brother, alongside his wife, his son, and his maid when the car accident occurred along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.

 

Ibrahim was said to have died on the spot. Fadil, Babangida’s one-year son, succumbed to the injuries from the crash a few days later. The wife lost an eye and had to undergo face reconstruction surgery, and the maid also fractured a leg.

 

Speaking on the incident, Babangida said he “will live with this trauma for the rest of my life”.

He said he could not “bear looking at photos and videos of my son” and his wife struggles to remember the name or “anything” about the boy.

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“I think I will live with this trauma for the rest of my life. It is hard to forget about it and move on when you suddenly lose your entire family,” the Babangida said.

 

“This is my first time talking about the accident because I couldn’t do it. I can’t bear looking at photos and videos of my son.

 

“It is even harder for my wife. She is an actress in Nigeria, famous in the northern part of the country. After being married a year, we had a baby. And suddenly, he was gone.

 

“And my brother, who always joined me when I travelled. For me, I only injured my legs and knees. I had to assist my wife. That’s why I came here with my wife to get proper medical treatment.

 

“After three months in the Netherlands, I was finally able to tell her that our child was in the car when the accident took place. She starting [to] ask about his name. She can’t remember anything about him.”

See also  Ex-Eagles star, Tijjani Babangida’s one-year-old son dies as wife ‘loses eye’ in car crash

 

In the documentary, Babangida, who was in the books of Ajax for seven years, spoke with Luis Van Gaal and other associates in the Netherlands.

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WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

See also  Ex-Eagles star, Tijjani Babangida’s one-year-old son dies as wife ‘loses eye’ in car crash

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

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FG  fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating  at  the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

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While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu  is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.

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