There are strong indications that some Super Eagles stars may boycott next month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nation double-header against Sierra Leone over safety concerns.
#EndSARS protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings have turned Nigeria on its head as protestors take over roads and street in Africa’s most populous country.
For the last two weeks, Nigerians poured out in their numbers to demonstrate against the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which has been accused of extrajudicial killings and extortions.
Things turned for the worse on Monday when at least seven people were allegedly killed by the military during a power outage in the country’s commercial capital, Lagos.
The demonstrators had taken over a toll gate leading to the affluent Lekki residential area when the when soldiers opened fire on protesters in a bid to disperse them from the Lekki toll gate in Lagos — a focal demonstration ground for the #EndSARS campaign.
The PUNCH reported that some of the country’s foreign-based players were afraid of returning to Nigeria for Eagles games, for fear of being killed or maimed.
“We can’t be representing a country that kills our brothers and sisters. This killings and unrest must stop or we stay away,” another player based in Belgium told The PUNCH.
Leicester City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho posted a cryptic message on Twitter with a broken heart emoji to express his dismay at the recent killings.
“God is watching. It will end in praise. We will keep speaking up,” he wrote.
