KATSINA United Football Club has commenced arrangements to convey the remains of its late player, Chinedu Ozor, to his hometown in Benue State for burial after the club officially confirmed his death following a 24-hour period of observation in the Intensive Care Unit of Katsina General Hospital.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that the club has also dismissed reports suggesting that Ozor suddenly regained consciousness at the morgue, explaining that he was moved to the ICU because his family refused to give up hope and wanted medical personnel to make every possible effort before accepting his death.
Speaking exclusively to News Point Nigeria Sport at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina on Wednesday, the club’s Media Officer, Nasir Gide, said members of Ozor’s family arrived in Katsina to personally confirm the player’s death.
According to Gide, the deceased player’s relatives were taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Katsina General Hospital, where they saw his body and eventually accepted his death as the will of God.
He said the family subsequently requested that Ozor’s remains be transferred to the mortuary of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, pending further burial arrangements, a request which the club immediately granted.
“They completed all the necessary documentation at Katsina General Hospital before obtaining a referral to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina. The mortuary officials accepted the body for preservation,” Gide said.
He added that the club had provided accommodation and other necessary support for the bereaved family as discussions continued on the logistics of transporting the late footballer’s remains to his hometown for burial.
Ozor collapsed nine minutes into Katsina United’s pre-season match against Niger Tornadoes at the Gusau/Ahlan Pre-season Cup on Tuesday.
The player, who recently signed for Katsina United ahead of the forthcoming Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, was initially rushed to K-Dara Specialist Hospital in Gidan Dawa, where he was pronounced dead before his death was later confirmed at Katsina General Hospital.
However, confusion followed after Ozor’s roommate reportedly noticed movement in one of the player’s hands while his body was being taken to the mortuary.
The development prompted medical personnel to return the player to Katsina General Hospital, where he was placed on life support in the ICU for 24 hours at the request of his family.
The family had also asked that the body should not be deposited in the mortuary until they arrived to personally confirm the situation.
A few hours after the incident, Gide had explained that the player was taken to two hospitals where he was pronounced dead, adding that, “we don’t know where or who saw his hands shaking, which makes his relatives say he is still alive and that we should take him to the ICU.”
Despite the emergency medical efforts and the 24-hour period of observation, Katsina United later confirmed Ozor’s death in a statement on Wednesday.
The club noted that Ozor’s body was moved to the ICU at the state General Hospital because his family was “refusing to give up hope,” stressing that the emotional moment must not be misrepresented as a story that the player survived or regained consciousness.
In its latest statement on the situation, Katsina United said the “moment of hope” for the family “must not be turned into a story that Chinedu survived”.
“They were a family desperately hoping that somehow, against all odds, their loved one was still with them,” the statement reads.
“He did not regain consciousness. He passed away.
“We know how difficult this is to accept. We know many people are still trying to process what happened. His teammates are grieving. His friends are grieving. The club is grieving. And somewhere, a family is facing a pain that words cannot begin to describe.”
Jerome Ochigbo, a childhood friend of Ozor, also confirmed the footballer’s death, saying the player’s body showed no sign of consciousness after 24 hours in the ICU before it was finally transferred to the mortuary.
Ochigbo said Ozor’s brother would retrieve his body for the journey back to Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, where the late footballer had built a house for his mother, wife and children.
His childhood friend also clarified that Ozor had no underlying health problem before the fatal incident.
The club management has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the deceased player’s family and ensuring that arrangements for his final journey are handled with dignity and respect.
The death has thrown the Nigerian football community into mourning, coming after Ozor collapsed during the pre-season encounter against Niger Tornadoes.
Earlier, the Katsina State Government expressed condolences to the player’s family and Katsina United FC.
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dikko Radda, Ibrahim Mohammed, the governor described Ozor’s death as a devastating loss to the club, the football community and Katsina State.
He extended his condolences to the player’s family, Katsina United FC, his teammates, coaches, management, supporters, his former club Kano Pillars FC and the wider Nigerian football community.
Ozor was previously with Kano Pillars before joining Katsina United ahead of the forthcoming NPFL season, but his promising new chapter with the Katsina-based club was tragically cut short after he collapsed during Tuesday’s pre-season friendly match.