The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Aminu Maigari was yesterday arrested at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, as soon as he disembarked from the plane that brought him back to the country after leading the NFF’s delegation to Brazil.
The reason for his arrest remains unknown, so also is the location where he his being held for questioning.
A source said upon getting into the arrival hall, he was hurriedly whisked away by policemen in a waiting van.
However, the Secretary General of the NFF, Musa Amadu has said he was not arrested but was only invited for a routine chat.
“Maigari was indeed at the police headquarters but only at the invitation of the Nigeria Police for a chat. Ahmadu said the meeting was conducted in “an atmosphere of mutual respect.”
“The NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari had very useful discussions at Force Headquarters. He was never at any time detained by the police. It is necessary in order to put the records straight,” said Amadu.
In a related development, members of Mr. Maigari’s board were on Thursday restrained from parading themselves as members of the NFF by a High Court judge sitting in Jos, Plateau State. The judge ruled in a case brought before by the chairman of Nembe Football Club, Ebiakpo Baribote, who went to court to contest the decision by the Maigari-led NFF board to ban him for 15 years from all football related activities in Nigeria.
The injunction also asked the Sports Ministry to appoint the most senior civil servant at the football house in an acting capacity as acting Secretary General, pending the determination of the suite on July 11.