Court nullifies NFF elections

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday nullified last month's elections into the Board of the Nigeria Football Federation.

The elections were held on Aug. 26 in Abuja.

In a ruling on Monday in Lagos, Justice Okon Abang held that the purported election into the elective office of the Nigeria Football Association on Aug. 26 notwithstanding the order of court, is nullified.

There was no election held on the 26th of August in line with Section 287 sub-section 3 of the Constitution.

Section 287 (3) states that the decision of the Federal High Court, a High Court and of all other courts established by this Constitution shall be enforced in any part of the federation by all authorities and persons, and by all other courts of law with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Federal High Court, a High Court and those other courts respectively.

Abang ordered the I-G to remove any person found occupying any position as a result of the elections.

He also ordered that the most senior administrative official to take charge of theaffairs of the football house with immediate effect.

The registered Trustees of the National Association of Nigerian Footballers had on Sept. 2 filed a motion asking the court to commit to prison the elected officials and members of the Electoral Committee for contempt of court for conducting the elections in spite of a subsisting order restraining them.

The National Association of Nigerian Footballers also urged the court to nullify the purported elections.

Earlier, National Association of Nigerian Footballers counsel Aidenoje Bello had urged the court to nullify the Aug. 26 elections.

He also asked the court to seal off the offices of the Nigeria Football Federation in Abuja pending the decision of the court on the elections.

Bello said in spite of the court's order of Aug. 20 that both parties should maintain the status quo ante in respect of the elections, they still went ahead and organised the elections.

But counsel to the Nigeria Football Federation and the Electoral Committee, Joseph Nwobike, told the court that he was unaware of any court order requiring the parties to maintain the status quo.

But Abang said where there is an issue of contempt before the court, it must be dealt with accordingly''.

Joined in the suit are the Nigeria Football Federation, Aminu Maigari, Nigerian Premier League Board, and Davidson Owumi, President of the Premier League Board.

Others are the Minister of Sports, the Director-General of Sports, Federal Ministry of Sports, the Electoral Committee and A.U. Mustapha, Chairman of the Electoral Committee.