The Federal High Court sitting in Jos has sacked the new chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, setting aside the September 30 election that led to his emergence as the chairman of the football ruling body. The court insists that it is wrong for anybody to disobey Court order.
This is even as the executive committee of NFF has filed for appeal against the ruling.
Delivering his judgment today on the case, Justice Ambrose Alagoa, who said that the election was conducted when there was a court injunction against it, said that it was wrong to disobey court order and warned all parties to abide by the ruling of the court.
Justice Alagoa ordered that the status quo be maintained and that the election that produced Chris Giwa as the NFF president should be recognized.
“I have set aside all the proceedings and decisions of the Warri Extra Ordinary meeting of the 20th September and the Elective Congress of 30th September which were direct contravention of the orders of this court as granted on the 19th September,” said Justice Allagoa.
“Nobody should foist on the court a complete case of hopelessness so that the principles of law and justice can be upheld. Its not enough to say that the order of court was wrongly made, no matter how unorthodox, its subsisting orders, unless set aside, remains law and must be respected.”
“Defendants in this matter have not filed any counter affidavits in this court to contest the facts. There is no motion nor Memorandum of Appearance. This is a court of Record. On this note, the court has no option to protect the integrity and sanctity of court. Court orders are not tea party. Nobody is above the law. Impunity must be stopped.”
It will be recalled that Messers Obinna Ogba and Yahaya Adamu of the Giwa-led faction had dragged the immediate past president of the NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari and the NFF Secretary General, Musa Ahmadu, to court seeking for orders to restrain Maigari as the first defendant; the NFF as the second defendant and Football Associations as the third defendant from conducting another election after the Giwa-led faction was elected
But the Maigari-led board had on September 20, 2014 and September 30, 2014 held extraordinary congresses, which led to the election of the Chairman of Delta Sports Commission, Amaju Pinnick as the new NFF president.
in a swift reaction to today’s court ruling, the NFF has filed for appeal against the ruling.
NFF 1st Vice-President, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi said: “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.”
