UPDATED: Former Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi Dies At 54

The Former Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, is dead. A tweet on the Nigeria Football Federation’s handle, @thenff, says the legend died in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Chairman, Edo State Football Association, Frank Ilaboya, confirmed on Wednesday that the remains of former Super Eagle’s coach, Stephen Keshi, had been deposited in a mortuary in Benin.

Ilaboya, quoted Keshi’s faimly member, Ricky Aburimen, as saying the Eagles’ former coach only complained of a leg ailment while holidaying at his Airport road home in Benin before he passed away.The privately-owned mortuary, Faith Mediplex, is located on the Benin Airport road, in the Edo State capital.

He said Keshi had died on the way to the hospital at about 3am.

A statement released by his brother and aide, Emmanuel Ado, read in part, “with thanksgiving to God, the Ogbuenyi Fredrick Keshi family of Illah in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, announces the death of Mr. Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi”.

“Our son, brother, father, father-in-law, brother-in-law, has gone to be with his wife of 33 years (Nkem), Mrs. Kate Keshi, who passed away on the 9th December 2015.

“Since her death, Keshi has been in mourning. He came back to Nigeria to be with her. He had planned to fly back today (Wednesday), before he suffered a cardiac arrest. He has found rest.”

Keshi has coached the national teams of Togo and Mali, qualifying the former to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In his last job with Nigeria, he won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and reached the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The ex- international lost his wife, Nkem Kate Keshi only last December. They had been married for 33 years. She died after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Keshi is survived by four children and his mother.