Above the law: Nigeria’s untouchable football goons

M. D. Abubakar...shunned by the NFF yet again

Goodluck Jonathan’s administration professes a mantra: Rule of Law. However, the nation’s football administrators are saying with impunity that they are above the law. The nation’s top police chief, the Inspector General of Police wrote to invite them for a chat and they shunned him.
The Police chief wrote his letter dated 23^rd May, 2013 with reference number CB:3514/X/LEG/FHQ/ABJ/vol. 22/2 with the title: FACT FINDING INVITATION. The letter was served and acknowledge received by the NFF secretariat on the 24^th May, 2013.
The content of the one-page letter read thus: The Inspector General of Police has directed that an enquiry be conducted into the status of the judgment in suit no. FHC/L/CS/962/10 THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN FOOTBALLERS (NANF) VS. NIGERIA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (NFA) & 7 ORS.; in which the Inspector General of Police was ordered to remove with immediate effect, any person found occupying any effective office of the NFA anywhere with the Federation, arising from the purported Election of 26/8/10.
2. Consequent on the above, the following members of the NFA are hereby invited to see the Commissioner of Police Legal on Tuesday, the 28^th day of May 2013 by 2:00pm.
3. This is a fact finding invitation in connection with th above mentioned court order. On arrival, please report to the Commissioner of Police Legal, through Barr. Joseph Nwadike (Deputy Superintendent of Police), Lawyer’s Office, 5^th Floor, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
4. Accept the warm regards of the Inspector General of Police, Please.
The letter was signed by CSP David Igbodo, Assistant Commissioner of Police for the Commissioner of Police, Legal from the Legal/Prosecution section, “D’ Department (FCID), Abuja.
On the appointed date, the team were on wait for the members of the NFF who neither showed up, e-mail, wrote a letter, sent an emissary or sent an SMS.
According to our sources, at about 7:00pm, the Police team pulled a call through to the Acting Secretary of the NFF, Musa Amodu. He claimed he was there. The call was dropped. The registry of the entre porte of the Police were summoned to bring their register. Musa Amodu or NFF were checked at the time he claimed he came. No signs were found.
The call was put back to him where he was confronted with the fact that he nor anyone from the NFF honoured the Inspector General of Police’s invitation. He then admitted and tried to create a new alibi.
It would be recalled that when the President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan wrote and ordered the Inspector General of Police to carry out the orders of court until it is vacated, the then Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC, Patrick Ekeji, begged for a week to attempt a mutual peace move.
The NFF members in their individual capacities ruched to court to sue the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police. They lost the case which was dismissed by the court.
With the new impunity with which the nation’s police authority has been disparaged by the NFF, we will be awaiting the reaction of the Inspector General of Police who has an option of carrying out the orders of court on him or prosecuting the NFF members for contempt of that court’s orders which they incidentally did not appeal.