Kidnapped Rivers United head coach regains freedom

Stanley Eguma, the head coach of Rivers United, has been released by his kidnappers.

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped the coach on Monday while returning from Gombe state, where his team had lost a Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) game to Adamawa United the previous weekend.

The club’s general manager, Okey Kpalukwu, announced the release of Eguma on its WhatsApp platform on Friday.

“We are grateful to God for His mercy. Our Technical Manager, Stanley Eguma, has been released by his abductors. Our God is gracious,” he wrote.

The specifics of the head coach’s release from his kidnappers have yet to be revealed.

In recent years, kidnapping for ransom has become a big issue in Nigeria. Victims of kidnapping frequently die as a result of victim resistance.

Eguma is the NPFL’s longest-serving coach.

In 2008, he joined the now-defunct Dolphins FC.

He was retained as the head coach after the state government amalgamated Dolphins FC and Sharks FC in 2017 to establish River United.