Time for reforms in NFF, Amaju, Dikko, Sanusi ‘s football cabal worst than fuel subsidy mafia
By Barrister Uche Onochie, Abuja.
It is the season of reforms in Nigeria. Tax Reforms, NNPC Reforms, Port Reforms and others. Kudos to the President Bola Tinubu-led administration for its foresight, vision courage, and the guts to tread where even angels cringe.
But let the Federal government know that the sector in the country that needs reforms the most is Sports, especially football under the illegal Nigerian Football Federation, NFF.
It is an understatement to say that the NFF has become a pain in the neck , as Nigeria had had to endure national and global disgrace from football through corruption, alleged embezzlement of players bonus and allowances, and ineptitude of characters like Aminu Maigari, Pinick Amaju, Shehu Dikko, Mohammed Sanusi and Ibrahim Gusau as leaders of the NFF since 2010.
In fact, since 2012, the NFF has embarrassed Nigeria even more than the fuel subsidy cabal that held the country by the jugulars for decades.
Impunity became NFF’s second name leading to national teams players boycotting training at the peak of major tournaments over allowances and bonuses debt.
Recently the Super Eagles captain, Wilfred Ndidi had to make a personal pledge to pay the players bonuses if the NFF failed after boycotting training for one day during the continental play-off qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, a day to the match against DR Congo in Morocco.
It is also on record that the NFF and its boards have been brazenly lawless by flouting Nigerian laws and flagrantly refusing to obey court orders and judgments.
Worst still, this set of lawless brats often threatened the country with ‘fake’ letters to ban Nigeria, supposedly written by CAF or FIFA.
The NFF’s lawlessness became criminally alarming since the now famous Justice Donatus Okorowo judgment in 2010 , when he declared the NFF illegal.
While delivering the judgment in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/179/2010, Justice Okorowo stated: “As set out in the early part of this judgment, the Nigeria Football Association was established under Section 1 of the Nigeria Football Association Act as a body corporate with perpetual succession and common seal with power to sue and be sued.”
The judgment added: “By these provisions, it is the only body recognised by Nigerian Law to manage football. The Law did not make reference to it as the Nigeria Football Federation. The name under which it is charged to manage football under the Law is Nigeria Football Association. It has no power to address itself as Nigeria Football Federation. And the document titled Nigeria Football Federation Statute, which purports to confer the name Nigeria Football Federation to Nigeria Football Association is not a codified Law under the Laws of Federation of Nigeria. It is therefore illegal for the Nigeria Football Association to answer another name other than the name by which it is created as a legal entity.”
Okorowo in the landmark judgment that looks like a death sentence on the illegal NFF also declared that FIFA or CAF laws are alien to Nigeria since the laws are not domesticated here.
Till date the Okorowo judgment was never appealed but rather enjoyed affirmation from the Supreme Court.
The era of judicial impunity by the NFF dated back to 2014 when a High Court restrained Aminu Maigari from organizing another Congress election in Warri , after he had lost the earlier one he supervised himself at the Chida Hotel Abuja, to Chris Giwa.
But defiant Maigari ignored the court order and went ahead to conduct the election that brought in Amaju and his army of the locusts that eventually ravaged our football to the lowest ebb that we are today.
The Giwa and NFF case went as far as to the apex Court , after Giwa won at the Federal High Court, Jos, as the substantive president of the FA.
Also delivering the lead judgment at the Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, upheld the judgment of the high court while setting aside the Appeal Court victory by Amaju. Giwa grabbed the bull by the horns as he led his team to occupy the NFF glass house, Abuja, for weeks, until there was a political settlement.
Now, another set of aggrieved football stakeholders are back in the court trenches and poised to expose the illegal corruption at the NFF.
Barely four years ago this NFF group procured a high court order restraining Amaju from holding the NFF elective Congress in Benin, Edo State in 2022. But the Amaju-led FA pretentiously approached the Appeal Court ,where they allegedly secured a fake stay of execution of the high court order. The bubble burst when the Appeal Court denied ever issuing such an order.
The angry stakeholders recently approached the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to stop the NFF’s Extra-Ordinary Congress and even the September elective Congress. The Congress, led by Ibrahim Gusau, as usual went ahead to hold the congress promising to review the NFF statute to accommodate more participants at the Congress.
Since then all hell has been let loose. The aggrieved ex-players are back in court while Nigerian football stakeholders have appealed to the Tinubu presidency to intervene and address the illegal status of the NFF immediately.
It is argued that even, if the number of Congress members is increased to one thousand, there is still the looming danger that just one legal pin will burst the NFF bubble finally.
A food for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice’s thoughts. He shouldn’t waste time to call for the Justice Okorowo judgment of 2010 and do the needful.
The plaintiffs in the new suit marked FHC/YNG/CS/70/2026 are a former Super Eagles player, Awala Jumbo, and a legal practitioner, Tekena Ediyekio ,while the case is before Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Yenagoa who made the order. But Gusau turned deaf ears to the Judge.
As a lawyer, I am bold to inform Mr President that all the cosmetic approaches by the NFF to increase congress numbers will fall like a park of cards. The Justice Minister has a big role to play here. He should call for the Okorowo judgment and address the legal status of the NFF without delay.
Let it be noted here too that Maigari, Amaju and Gusau were never in office in the eyes of Nigerian laws. Whatever they may have done in office between 2010 and 2022 is a nullity. Null and void — an exercise in futility.
So, let’s make hay while the sun shines now for that’s the only way there can be peace in football administration.
I also want to advise President Tinubu that Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the National Sports Commission cannot champion the reforms we want in sports and football. Dikko has several damning accusations to contend with as he was in 2014 described as not fit and proper to head any public office in Nigeria as his personal interest would be in conflict with National interests. This was the police report by the late IGP Solomon Arase.
Dikko also has a big CRIMINAL banner of A PRISONER AT LARGE by a Plateau State High Court. Till date, he remains one of the most high government officers the Police described as criminally unfit to hold public office. DIKKO was never given a state pardon for his jail sentence so much so that people in the legal parlance derisively refer to him as a run-away convict.
Dikko was also Amaju’s vice president for eight years at the NFF and that happens to be the worst era in our football. It was an era of corruption, outright stealing and embezzlement.
The Arase-led Police investigation is an eyesore to read. And yet he shamelessly parades himself in foreign sports meets leading Nigeria’s delegation.
It will be in the interest of the nation for President Tinubu to institute a forensic probe into the management of our football under these sports misfits.
