Auto accident: Tijjani Babangida’s one-year-old son dies, wife loses eye

Tijjani Babangida, a former Super Eagles player, has lost Fadil, his one-year-old son, in a car crash involving his family along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.

Tijjani was travelling with his family — Maryam, his wife, son, and Ibrahim, his brother — and his maid when the car incident occurred on last Thursday.

Ibrahim died on the spot, while the other occupants in the vehicle were rushed to the hospital.

In an update, Harrison Jalla, chairman of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, disclosed that Babangida’s son also died due to injury sustained in the accident.

“Yes, he eventually lost the son, a one-year-old boy,” Jalla said on Sunday evening.

Babangida’s wife is also said to have lost an eye due to the severe injury 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 deaths 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.