Stephen Keshi, the Nigerian football legend who won 64 caps playing for the Super Eagles, has died at the age of 54.

Keshi, who played as central defender and went on to captain the Nigeria national team, was one of only two people to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.

He suffered a heart attack, his family confirmed in a statement.

"Stephen Keshi has gone to be with his wife," his family said on announcing his death.

The statement notes that since the death of his wife, Kate, on December 9 last year, Keshi had been "in mourning".

"He came back to Nigeria to be with her," it said. "He had planned to fly back today, before he suffered a cardiac arrest. He has found rest."

As a player Keshi, referred to by his admirers as "Big Boss", was part of the Super Eagles team that won the Nations Cup in 1994 and narrowly missed out on a World Cup quarter-final place the same year.

He had a long career, playing for the Eagles between 1981 and 1995. In 1994 Nigeria reached number five in the Fifa World Rankings ‒ the highest-ever ranking for an African team.

Keshi coached the national side over three spells, leading Nigeria to the 2013 Nations Cup title in South Africa and the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.