Corpse of footballer who drowned saving flood victims recovered

The corpse of a footballer identified as Earnest Peremobowei who drowned while saving flood victims has been recovered and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
According to information at hand, he sank into the water after saving five other occupants of an ill-fated boat in which they were travelling to Yenebelebiri, which capsized after running into the Yenagoa jetty barge and lost control.

Peremobowei was the joint top-scorer at this year’s Bayelsa Governor Football Tournament, also known as ‘Prosperity Cup’, netting nine goals during the competition.

Commiserating with the family and fans, , the organisers of the Prosperity Cup, led by its Director-General, Ono Akpe, described the demise of the 31-year-old baller as a sad tale for the football community in Bayelsa and Nigeria in general.

“This is really sad for me. Ernest was a very good player. We saw his exploits at the last Prosperity Cup, where he scored nine goals.

“Even at the finals of the FA Cup against Bayelsa United, he scored a beautiful goal. He is one player we wished realised his dream of playing for bigger teams. His exploits and bravery is exemplary. The fact that he saved five persons before succumbing to the raging torrents is indeed quite unfortunate.

“On behalf of the organisers, I sympathize with the family, his teammates, the football community, the sports ministry, the state government, and all those who knew him in anyway. He was indeed a hero.” said Akpe.