Friday Njengo Is Dead (Golden Eaglet) »

Nigeria’s football family was thrown into
mourning on Tuesday after news filtered in
that former Golden Eaglets’ defender, Friday
Njengo, who had been in intensive care at the
National Hospital, Abuja for more than nine
months, had died.
Njengo, a regular with the Manu Garba team
during the qualifying series for the 2013 CAN
U-17 Championship, during which the Eaglets
thrashed Niger Republic, Guinea and Mali
home-and-away, was involved in an accident
with team-mate Adamu Abubakar while
traveling from Jalingo to Calabar for the
team’s first phase of final camping for the
African Championship. The accident occurred
on February 3.
“This is very sad news. We had looked
forward to the boy eventually recovering to
be part of the team again as the squad
progresses to the next level. It is a thing of
sorrow to lose such a huge talent this way,”
NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu,
said on Tuesday.
While Njengo sustained head injury in the
accident, goalkeeper Adamu Abubakar was
luckier and was discharged after a few days.
NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, who was
at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa,
had ordered that Njengo be moved from the
Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo to the
National Hospital, Abuja two days after the
crash.
At the National Hospital, an operation was
performed on the player and he was thought
to be recovering, though still suffering from
memory lapse, until his death on Sunday
night.
The Nigeria Football Federation stated on
Tuesday that burial arrangements would be
announced after consultations with the
family.