Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, the former Captain and Coach of Nigeria's national football team - Super Eagles, has died aged 54.
According to a family member, he died in Nigeria's Edo State capital city of Benin, from a cardiac arrest. However, this cause of death was rebutted by another family member, who requested that there should be no speculations about the cause of death before the scheduled autopsy.
His death follows closely that of his wife of 35 years - Kate, who died last year after a three-year battle with cancer.
Keshi, who was one of only two men (the other being Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary) to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach, was part of the Super Eagles team that won the Nations Cup in 1994 and narrowly missed out on a World Cup quarter-final place the same year.
Stephen Keshi speaking to Segun Odegbami as a Player in 1994
Stephen Keshi speaking to Segun Odegbami as a Player in 1994
He made a total of 64 appearances for Nigeria and scored nine goals.
Keshi coached the national side over three spells, leading Nigeria to the 2013 Nations Cup title in South Africa and the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where they lost to France.
His contract was not renewed after the World Cup but he later returned on a match-by-match deal following the team's failure to reach the 2015 Nations Cup finals.
He was then sacked as caretaker coach but reinstated after intervention from then Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan. He was sacked for a final time last July.
He also coached Togo and Mali, and his playing career included a spell for Belgian club side Anderlecht.