Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo sent a passionate message to authorities in his home country of Nigeria from the pitch at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Ighalo, who was an unused substitute for United in their Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain, branded the Nigerian government as "killers" following a massacre in Lekki, Lagos state, on Tuesday.
Nigerian soldiers gunned down protesters who were asking for the scrapping of a unit of the Nigeria Police Force, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, after an alleged order by Lagos state government to show force.
Several people died in the incident, and Ighalo took to Twitter after United's win to send a message directly to the authorities.
“I’m not the kind of guy who talks about politics, but I can’t keep quiet anymore for what is going on back home in Nigeria,” he said in a video shared on his Twitter account.
“I would say the Nigerian government are a shame to the world for killing your own citizens, sending the military to kill unarmed protesters because they are protesting for their own rights? It’s uncalled for.
“Today, the 20th of October 2020, you people will be remembered in history as the first government to send the military to the city to start killing your own citizens.
“I am ashamed of this government, we are tired of you guys and we can’t take this anymore.”
Ighalo went on to ask British authorities to intervene.
“I’m calling the UK government and all those leaders in the world to see what is going on in Nigeria and help the poor citizens. The government are killing their own citizens,” he continued.
“We are calling you guys in the United Nations (UN) to see to this matter. I want to tell my brothers and sisters back home to remain safe, be indoor and please don’t come out because the government are killers and they will keep killing if the world doesn’t talk about this. God bless you all and remain safe. One Nigeria, we move!”
