Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency EFCC has confirmed it is investigating top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over stolen sponsorship monies running into many billions of Naira over several years.
The latest wide-ranging investigation is looking into fraud allegations over how sponsorship money meant for the development of football in the country has been stolen.
“What I can confirm is that officials of the Nigeria Football Federation are being investigated by the agency,” EFCC spokesperson Wlison Uwujaren told BBC Sport.
NFF 2nd vice president Shehu Dikko and general secretary Mohammed Sanusi have already been grilled by EFCC in connection with this probe with several other top-ranking officials also scheduled to be quizzed.
The inquiry is focusing on money generated from the NFF’s official sponsors, domestic league’s television sponsorship and payments from a former kit supplier for all the national teams.
It also focus on funds provided by federal and state government for friendly matches involving the Super Eagles and the misappropriation of about US$2.7 million from the Financial Assistance Programme of football’s world governing body, FIFA.
In May, the NFF president Amaju Pinnick told the BBC that he and four other top officials were being “victimised” and denied any wrongdoing over the alleged misappropriation of funds case brought by the SPIP for the recovery of public property.
Meanwhile, the NFF and EFCC are also awaiting a legal judgment on the second case at the Federal High Court in the capital Abuja.
