Court sacks Pinnick's nigeria football federation board

The executive board of the Nigeria Football Federation has been sacked by a Federal High Court ruling in Jos on Friday following the nullification of the election of Amaju Pinnick.

The court ordered challenger Chris Giwa to take over the leadership of the NFF with immediate effect and ordered the sports minister, Solomon Dalung to recognize his election victory at the August 26, 2014 polls.


Previously, Giwa who claimed he was the rightfully elected president of the announced plans to resume office on January 12, 2016 but was stopped by the sports minister’s intervention.

Efforts by Dalung to restore peace between the warring factions in the recurring leadership crisis of the NFF failed to yield positive results.

But at Friday's verdict announcement, presiding judge Justice Musa Haruna Kurya upheld the previous judgment of Justice Ambrose Allagoa.

In his ruling, Justice Kurya relisted the earlier withdrawn case between Giwa and the NFF as well as upheld the nullification of the Pinnick-led board which were prayers of petitioners Yahaya Adama and Obinna Ogba.

According to him, Giwa will be temporarily in charge of the nation's footballing body pending final verdict of the case.

Meanwhile, Giwa has immediately stormed the Glass House to take over following court ruling.

Goal learnt that the legal team of Pinnick has appealed the verdict and asked for a stay of execution.

“This is a sad one primarily because we have enjoyed a period of peace and have been able to work without the court-today-court-tomorrow situation of the last half of 2014," said 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi.

“We have filed for stay-of-execution and that means the status quo remains and anything done is done at the actors’ peril. I can assure football –loving Nigerians that there is no reason to panic as we are in full charge and there is no trouble whatsoever. There is no order for the Giwa group to take over the Glass House. In fact many of his so called board members have called to dissociate themselves from the matter."

The crisis in Nigerian football has led to the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.