Gracious Akujobi, spokeswoman of Nigeria’s senior female team, is dead. The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) confirmed this in a statement on its website on Thursday.
Akujobi was said to have been rushed to the General Hospital in Maitama, Abuja, after she suddenly took ill at the team’s hotel in the federal capital territory. Unfortunately, the doctors confirmed her dead on arrival.
The NFF described her as “an energetic officer”, expressing shock over the tragedy. “This is a very tragic occurrence. Gracious was such an energetic, hard–working officer and her death has come as a terrible shock. Her commitment to the job was never in doubt,” Mohammed Sanusi, the federation’s secretary-general, said.
“The NFF is in deep mourning with her family over this tragedy.” A native of Imo state, Akujobi first served as the media officer of the Falcons in 2011 and was moved to the U17 team a year later. She returned to the Falcons in 2013. The deceased last official outing was at the 7th Women’s World Cup finals in Canada.