Referee collapses, dies during Cooper test inAbujaOur Reporter

ovember 7, 2013 1 Comment »
From ROMANUS UGWU, Abuja
The Nigeria Football Referees Association
(NRA) family was thrown into a mourning
mood yesterday as tragedy struck the men of
whistle after one of Nigeria’s aspiring top
referee, Osita Nwadashi slumped and died,
while undergoing the 2013 National fitness
test in Abuja.
Nwadashi alongside his colleagues from
South-west zone were about completing the
mandatory running exercise, when he stepped
aside and signalled the medical personnel for
attention, but the efforts made to revive him
however, proved abortive.
He was taken by Ambulance with registration
no FG 148 A 27, belonging to the National
Sports Commission (NSC) to the near-by
National Hospital where he was confirmed
dead.
Reacting to the situation, the President of the
Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), Ahmed
Maude and Chairman of Lagos State Referee
Council, Tade Azeez confirmed the death of
the referee to the media.
According to an obviously traumatised Maude:
“It was quite unfortunate. He has been
certified dead by the medical personnel.”
Absorbing the NRA of any complicity, Azeez
insisted that his death was not lapses on the
part of the association, stressing: “We had the
best of everything. The medical personnel are
from NSC. All of them pass medical test
before we allow them to participate in the
exercise. If the family are interested in doing
autopsy on him we cannot stop them. It was a
very sad day for me in particular and an
unfortunate situation.”
One of the referee, who would not want his
name in print told said that the weather was
not favourable as the scorching Abuja sun
might have contributed to his death.
“It’s really sad that Nwadashi is no more. He
left his homes fit and healthy and now his
dead Everyone knows that the Fitness test is
very strenuous, but all the same no one
expected these to happen,” he lamented.
The remains of the deceased has since been
deposited at the mortuary of the Jabi Medical
Hospital in Abuja while the NRA are making
effort to contact his relatives.
In 2010, two referees Oyetola Olatunde from
Oyo State and Faloye Mathew from Ogun State
slumped and died during the same exercise at
the same