George Aluo
Lawyers to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have protested what they called “persecution and public show trial” of Amaju Melvin Pinnick and other top officials of the football governing body by the chairman of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla.
The NFF’s legal team, in a release signed by Muhammad Sani Katu Esq, alleged that Obono-Obla has been carrying out orchestrated media campaign against the NFF leadership.
The release stated in part: “…On Monday the 7th day of January 2019 Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, the Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel (SPIP) granted a widely published radio interview stating that his Panel has established a prima facie case against the President of the NFF and certain officials of NFF. C
“Chief Obono-Obla then went further to assert that his Panel will definitely arraign the named officials the next day, 8th January, 2019 and that he had ensured that their names were put on a travel ban list.
“Curiously, a few hours after this radio interview by Chief Obono-Obla, documents were being published in a certain section of the media showing a ban list containing the names of the affected officials and the official covering letter from Chief Obono-Obla to the Immigration Service.”
“While faulting the decision of SPIP to drag the NFF officials to a magistrate court, where a warrant of arrest was secured, the NFF lawyers disclosed that they have taken legal steps to save their clients from being further persecuted.
“In the face of this obvious persecution and public show trial, our client took legal advice and lodged a petition with the office of the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as the overseeing ministry to SPIP for his intervention to ensure the due process of the Law adhered to.
“Our client and the affected NFF officials have also taken the additional step to file a suit, FC/ABJ/CS/17/2019 at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division (The only court statutory conferred with jurisdiction over SPIP matters under the enabling act).
“The suit is to allow this whole sordid matter to be ventilated in the Court of the land and to check the oppression of our client and its officials,” the NFF lawyers stated.
