Former NFF boss Ibrahim Galadima and several other stakeholders have urged Amaju Pinnick and four other top-ranking officials to appear in court tomorrow to face charges of corruption brought against them.
The other officials ordered to appear before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja tomorrow are NFF vice-presidents Sey Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko as well as executive committee member Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’ and general secretary Mohammed Sanusi.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has charged them on a 17-count charge ranging from embezzlement of $8.4 million being the money the Super Eagles earned for reaching the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup to failure to declare their assets when asked to.
Pinnick and the other accused officials have so far evaded judicial summons, according to prosecution counsels.
But Galadima told Daily Trust this ought not to be.
“I agree with those who feel they should go to court to clear their names,” he stated.
“Once such weighty allegations are made against you, the most reasonable thing to do is to go and clear your name.
“They have the name of the federation and their own to clear.
“These issues have caused a lot of damage to the system because a lot of confidence has been lost. The integrity of the federation and confidence of sponsors has been really shaken.”
Another former NFF president Kojo Williams had also advised the NFF officials to face the court charges, insisting they are not above the law.
Lumumba Dah Adeh, who has previously contested for the NFF presidency said he does not see any reason why they should stay away from the court if they do not have anything to hide.
“I don’t see any reason that an organization will toy with its image and integrity more so that we have been made to understand that FIFA and CAF have zero tolerance for corruption,” he said.
“They should honour the court invitation based on the following reasons – there is presumption of innocence and there is equality before the law,” said barrister in law Raymond Nyagba.
“No one is above the law and importantly, no FIFA statute can oust the jurisdiction of a sovereign nation to prosecute her citizens.”
