Nigerian fans expressed outrage at Bayer Leverkusen after Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface was given just three minutes of playing time in a 5-2 DFB-Pokal victory over FC Nurnberg following months on the sidelines.

A massive war of words has broken out between Nigerian football fans and Bayer Leverkusen after Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface was finally let out of the freezer for a mere three minutes.

For months, the 25-year-old powerhouse has inexplicably been treated like a complete stranger at the BayArena.

Despite being the very first player to report for pre-season and putting in a spectacular shift ahead of the new campaign, Boniface has found himself frozen out and treated unfairly by manager Carles Martínez.

Prior to this week, his entire season consisted of a miserable five-minute cameo against Elversberg way back on August 29th.

Victor Boniface

His grueling exile finally ended during a chaotic, seven-goal DFB-Pokal thriller against FC Nurnberg, a match Die Werkself won 5-2 thanks to a brilliant brace from fellow African star Edmond Tapsoba. 

But instead of a proper comeback, Martinez brutally subbed Boniface on in the 87th minute, giving him an insulting three minutes of action and bringing his total playing time to just eight minutes across two matches all season.

Attempting to tap into the massive Nigerian audience, Bayer Leverkusen’s media team immediately rolled out the red carpet on social media, posting a Pidgin English welcome message:

Victor Boniface featured for just three minutes.

But the club's attempt to win over Nigerian fans completely backfired. Angry supporters instantly hijacked the comment section, fiercely calling out the club for benching a healthy, fit striker while ruthlessly exploiting his massive internet popularity for digital engagement.

Fans did not mince words as they dragged the German club to the mud for keeping the Super Eagles star grounded.

“This club seems to only be using VB for engagements,” one fan angrily pointed out. “Man has spent months on the bench with no injury and no game time.”

The sheer disbelief over his three-minute cameo echoed across the internet, with another fan commenting in shock, “3mins? 8mins in total this season?”

Local supporters quickly lost their patience with the club's administrative post, dropping heavy Pidgin insults: 

“Since when, una leave am for bench con dey talk welcome back, thunder go fire Leverkusen.”

Others begged the coaching crew to stop killing the forward's rhythm before it's too late: 

“Try dey give am more time Abeg before ball go comot him body. Pls give Boniface 90 mins playing time in your next match.”

Despite the overwhelming negativity surrounding his lack of game time, a small section of the fanbase is urging the Nigerian international to use the insult as fuel to reclaim his spot in the team.

“Good to see him play, keep fighting champ!!!” a loyal supporter wrote. “The ability to fight your back always amazes me. Now I will be watching ya games cos our boy is back at it.”

Victor Boniface

Whether Carles Martínez will cave under the intense pressure from the Nigerian fanbase and give Victor Boniface a meaningful opportunity remains to be seen, but Leverkusen's social media managers have officially been put on notice.