A former Nigerian midfielder, Justice Christopher has died at the age of 40.

According to the source, the one-time Super Eagles defensive midfielder slumped and died with no sign of sickness or illness.

“This is a big shock to me, he had no sign of sickness and even had his routine training on Tuesday, only to hear he slumped and died this morning (Wednesday),” the close friend lamented.

According to reports, Christopher died in his Racheal Hotel, Jos, a complex he named to honour his late sister.

He made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2001 and went on to accumulate 11 appearances – including three at the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.

Christopher began his senior career at Katsina United in 1999. Following spells at Sharks and Bendel Insurance, he moved to Belgium in 2001 when he signed for Royal Antwerp.

He also played for Levski Sofia in Bulgaria, Swedish club Trelleborgs FF, Alania Vladikavkaz in Russia and Herfølge BK in Denmark before announcing his retirement from football at the end of the 2006/2007 season.

He, however, returned and signed for Nasarawa United in October 2012. He has been with the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club ever since.

Justice Christopher captained the Nigeria U20 national team, the Flying Eagles, to the 2001 Africa Youth Championship in Egypt. The team was coached by the late Stephen Keshi.

Interestingly, he made his debut for the Super Eagles in the same year during 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and racked up a total of 11 caps for the national team, which include an Africa Cup of Nations appearance and a World Cup appearance, all in 2002.Late former Super Eagles midfielder, Justice Christopher.

The 40-year-old played professional football both in Nigeria and abroad, before retiring at Nassarawa United.