By Pascal Ibe
Claim
An X user, @SIKAOFFICIAL, shared a video showing Liverpool fans marching to mourn the passing of Diogo Jota alongside the claim that these fans were from Nigeria.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING. A closer look at the banners held by the mourning Liverpool fans showed that the march took place in Uganda and NOT Nigeria.
Full Text
The death of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota in a car crash at the age of 28 has left the football world in shock.
Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, both died after the Lamborghini they were travelling in crashed in the Spanish province of Zamora.
It was gathered that the 28-year-old Jota was on his way back to Liverpool for pre-season training, making the trip by car and ferry because he had undergone minor surgery so doctors advised him against flying.
Jota married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children, just 11 days before the fatal crash.
Jota and 25-year-old Silva, also a professional footballer for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel, were killed after their car left the road because of a tyre blowout that occurred while overtaking another vehicle.
At just 28 years old, Jota was enjoying some of the best moments of his career and personal life; he won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal, the Premier League with Liverpool.
The tragedy has left a deep void in the football world, which is still trying to come to terms with the loss.
Regarding this, an X user, @SIKAOFFICIAL has shared a video showing Liverpool fans marching to mourn the passing of Diogo Jota alongside the claim that these fans were from Nigeria.
The X user published the video and wrote, “Liverpool fans in Nigeria took to the streets in a solemn march to mourn the loss of Portuguese national, Diogo Jota.
The post has generated 327k views with more than 4k likes and over 1.1k reposts on the X platform as of 6th July 2025.
Verification
First, a closer look at the banners held by the mourning Liverpool fans showed that the march took place in Uganda and NOT Nigeria.
“NORTHERN UGANDA LIVERPOOL FANS” was written on one of the banners carried by the Liverpool fans in the video.
To confirm further, FACTWATCH Nigeria conducted a simple Google search and discovered that the march to mourn Jota took place in Gulu city, Uganda on 5th July.
Ugandan-based radio station, Radiocity 97FM, shared a video of the procession by Liverpool fans on its Instagram account.
Also, see other Facebook pages from Uganda that published this video here.
Conclusion
Findings have shown that the Liverpool fans who marched to mourn the death of Diogo Jota were not from Nigeria but Uganda.
