Fresh Crises Hits Nigerian Football as Court declares NFF, NPL Illegal Bodies



NFF, NFL declared illegal by an Abuja court. Details coming up

Fresh crises has hit Nigerian football following a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja Friday that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has no statutory recognition even as it also declared the Victor Rumson Baribote-led Nigeria Premier League (NPL) board illegal.

Threatening to charge the league board with contempt, if it continues to transact any business on behalf of the statutorily recognised by law Nigerian Football League limited (NFL), to run the Premier league in Nigeria, the court insisted that the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) is the body recognised by law to run football in Nigeria.

The court, presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowu, adopting the prayers of Dr Sam Sam Jaja in the Suit challenging his disqualification from the 2010 NPL election, that football federation can only operate with the name NFA established by the National Assembly act of 1999.

Dr. Jaja had on March 3, 2010, taken legal action against the NPL, contesting that his disqualification from the NPL board election as illegal. He joined the NFF, former chairman of the NPL electoral committee, Tony Rafua as well as the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, in the suit as co defendants.

Ruling on the litigation, Justice Okorowu, noted that he critically examined all the submissions of the counsel to both NFF and NPL, adding that they accepted that the plaintiff, (Jaja) was a stakeholder in the Nigerian football community, having served as chairman of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), as well as a former member of NFA.

He therefore insisted that the Tony Rafua-led Election Committee inflicted an injury on the plaintiff by unlawfully disqualifying him from the said election.

He also contended that having gone through the submissions of the counsel to Corporate Affairs Commission, it is only the Nigeria Football League limited not Nigeria Premier league that has legal authority to run the premier league in the country.

He added that the NPL was an illegal body that has no legal recognition, stressing that the board as presently constituted is null and void, without any right what so ever to transact business on behalf of the league.

“As recognised by the National Assembly act of 1999, the NFA is the legal body that is saddled with the responsibility of handling football matters in the country with other affiliate bodies recognised by it. It is very obvious that the NFA been domiciled in Nigeria can only operate under the Nigerian law. FIFA is a corporate body registered under the Swiss law, which has no powers over the laws of Nigeria.

“So, the plaintiff in this case has every right to challenge the injury he felt inflicted on him by his purported disqualification from the election in the law court especially when I have read the statutes of the NFA as contained in the 1999 act and found out that there is no provision for arbitration in it.

“Also the court been domiciled in Nigeria has every right of jurisdiction to try the case as against the submissions of the counsels of the defendants. Therefore the name NPL and NFF are illegal before the law since there is no statutes recognising their existence in the country.  The court therefore submits that if any of these bodies continue to transact business under a name that is not recognised by law, they are doing such at its own risk,” the judge noted.

Commenting on the judgment, counsel to Dr Jaja, Phil Ugochukwu, warned the NPL board to adhere to the court judgment, insisting that he would not hesitate to charge the board for court contempt if it continues to remain in office and transact business in the name of NPL

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http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fresh-crises-hits-nigerian-football-as-court-declares-nff-npl-illegal-bodies/107552/

Hope this isnt a rumor. NFF should have been banned like GEJ tried to do. Since the ban was lifted we went back to being the Giant (Fool) of Africa, even in the institute of football

The drama continues in Naija, when a country is at the end of her time, the things happening now are part of the signs, let us keep struggling to keep Nigeria but the truth is that we are fed up to be together as a nation, the worst is still about to happen if we are not careful

We need to be banned by FIFA sharp sharp.

This is not supposed to be news, as this judgement is borne out of self-fish interest, and the bill changing the name from NFA and NFA League to NFF and NPL, even passed the first reading at the last assembly. This will only accelerate the bill.

As for the change of name, the current FA board members are also selfish, moreso, based on the fact that someone wants to answer "NFF President".

Also, the judgement was not compelling, but just a notion. To a lay man, a mere observation. Howbeit, even if it was compelling, NFF has 90 days to appeal. So, the staus quo remains.

In Nigeria, every interest in sport development is selfish. The Jaja of a man too is selfish, so all FA members.

Good judgement, someone needs to declare the Nigeria constitution illegal as well, Afterall it was General Sani Abacha's ideas in his famous classic act of "five fingers of a leprous hand"t,

They shld also declare d NFF members illegal citizen of Nigeria, I swear

This needs sorting out ASAP

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Everything is turning upside down gradually. Oh Lord what is going on in 9ja now