The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed grief and commiserated with families of the three persons who were killed by kidnappers in an ambush on the Ihiala-Orlu Road in Anambra State, on Tuesday.
There were initial reports on Thursday that seven journalists were kidnapped by gunmen on their way to Uyo for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles and Libya, with six of them eventually rescued and one missing.
The latest information on Saturday is that the gunmen opened fire on the bus in which the SuperSport crew were travelling, with staff and security personnel on board, and the attack immediately resulted in the deaths of a cameraman, a police officer and the bus driver.
NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau stated that it has been a very sad past few days for Executive Committee members, as well as management and staff of the body.
“Yes, we won the match against Libya and took three points, but the fact that three lives were lost created a situation in which we were unable to celebrate properly, and it hurts seriously to even think back at the unfortunate incident,” he said.
“Nigerian football has had a long and fruitful relationship with SuperSport. The organization has been a strong ally in helping to fulfill the objective of the NFF in spreading joy to Nigerians through football, and they have been very professional and dedicated in their service.
“We share in their pain and sorrow at this period. Our prayer is that the Almighty will comfort the SuperSport family and the families of the deceased, and also grant the deceased eternal rest.
“At the same time, we pray for the safe return of the one person still unaccounted for, so that he will happily link up with his family and return to his job in good health. We also thank the security forces immensely for their efforts since this incident started.”
The SuperSport crew was on the way to Uyo to broadcast the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria and Libya, played on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.
It was reliably gathered on Saturday that a total of 14 persons were in the vehicle at the time of the ambush. Eight persons were eventually rescued, two escaped on their own, three were killed and one person is still unaccounted for.
SuperSport still went ahead to broadcast the match live on one of their cable channels, with the Super Eagles winning 1-0.
