Nigeria Football Drama Latest: Court Annuls Amaju’s Election We Have Appealed jJudgment-NFF

A Federal high court sitting in Jos the Plateau state capital has set aside the September 30  election that brought in Pinnick Amaju as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). 

Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court in his ruling on Thursday, directed the parties to maintain the statuesque until the substantive suit has been decided.

He said it is wrong for anybody to disobey court order and warned all parties to abide by the ruling of the court. The hearing of the substantive case in the originating summons has been fixed for the 25th of November. Yahaya Adamu and three others on  September 19  approached the court to restrain Aminu Magari (First defendant) NFF (second defendant) and Nigeria Football Associations (third defendant) from holding an election after the Chris Giwa led faction had been elected.

It is recalled that Adama and three others had obtained an interim injunction to restrain NFF from conducting another election after the August 26 election in Abuja where a faction of the crisis ridden NFF elected Giwa.

It would be noted that world soccer governing body, FIFA did not endorse the Abuja election and ordered that a fresh election should be conducted. The NFF, complying with FIFA’s directive drew up a new electoral road map that culminated in the Warri election where Amaju was elected president. FIFA has since endorsed the Warri poll, even as it warned that the new board should be allowed to function without any hindrance if Nigeria must not face outright ban from international football.

Moments after the court ruling in Jos, the executive committee of NFF reacted by disclosing that it has filed an appeal. The soccer federation’s first vice chairman, Seyi Akinwunmi, a lawyer, said the NFF is taken aback by the decision of the Jos court to go ahead with the case even after it has filed a preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

According to Akinwunmi: “We have been notified of the ruling of the court, which was made in spite of our filing for a Preliminary Objection concerning the jurisdiction of the court. However, our lawyers have gone to work immediately the order was made. We are appealing the ruling and also filing for stay of execution of the order.”