Katsina United has pushed back against viral reports claiming that midfielder Chinedu Ozor came back to life after being declared dead.
In a statement posted on its X handle on Wednesday, the club said the reports are false and asked fans to stop sharing them.
Ozor collapsed during a pre-season friendly against Niger Tornadoes at the Muhammad Dikko Stadium in Katsina. Despite immediate medical attention, he did not survive.
The confusion, according to the club, began right after the incident. Ozor’s family, in shock and holding onto hope, asked doctors for a second medical confirmation before his body was moved to the mortuary.
“That moment of hope must not be turned into a story that Chinedu survived,” the club wrote. “He did not regain consciousness. He passed away.”
“We have seen reports claiming that Chinedu later regained consciousness back to life. We understand that people desperately wanted this to be true. We all did. But sadly, those reports are not true.”
Katsina United appealed directly to the public to stop circulating unverified updates.
“So please, we ask from the bottom of our hearts: stop the rumours. Stop the false reports. Stop sharing unverified information,” the statement read.
The club added that Ozor’s teammates, friends and family are grieving, and asked for privacy and compassion at this time.
“At this moment, what his family needs is compassion, not speculation. What his teammates need is space to grieve. And what Chinedu deserves is to be remembered with dignity,” it said. “Please let us allow him to rest.”
