Pat Stevens/
The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr Amaju Pinnick, and four other officials of the federation have been charged by the Federal Government with alleged fraud.
They were accused of misappropriating $8,400 paid by FIFA to the NFF as Nigeria’s appearance fees in the group stage of the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
They were also alleged to have moved “dishonestly and intentionally the sum of about N4bn” belonging to the NFF without the consent of the federation.
The case was instituted by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIRPP) led by Mr Okoi Obono-Obla.
The 17-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/93/2019, was filed by SPIRPP at the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday, on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Other defendants in the suit are the Secretary of the NFF, Sunusi Mohammed; the first Vice-President, Seyi Akinwumi; the second Vice-President, Shehu Dikko, and an executive member, Yusuff Fresh.
The SPIRPP accused the defendants of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, theft, criminal misappropriation in respect of their handling of the $8,400 and N4 billion belonging to the NFF.
The offences were said to be contrary to and punishable under various provisions of the Penal Code (Cap 105) LFN.
The defendants were also accused of failure and neglect to declare their assets to the SPIRPP, contrary to and punishable under section 3(3)(a) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act, 2004.
Pinnick was specifically accused of appointing a company he had interest in, Financial Derivatives Limited, as a financial consultant to the NFF, contrary to Section 5 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
The SPIRPP said he was liable to be punished under sections 1(2) and 10(1)(a) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act, 2004.
Dikko too was accused of allowing Mediterranean Sports Limited to be appointed as a marketing agent to NFF in violation of the same provision of the same Act.”
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