NFF stinks again as court tries staff over missing N3.4 billion
Three principal staff of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Director of Administration and Accounts, Christopher Andekin, cashier, Rajan Zaka and Head of accounts, Jafaru Mamza are presently standing trial before an FCT High Court in Maitama District of Abuja for corruptly diverting into private accounts a whopping N3.4billion FIFA grant.
It is said the sum of $9.5million was released to the NFF in 2014 by the world football governing body, FIFA as grant for the development of football in the country.
When the trio was arraigned on Thursday, the court was told that between January 8 and 26, 2015, Andekin diverted the sum of N1.3million being a grant from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) meant for the development of football in Nigeria.
Zaka on his part was charged with the diversion of a total of $7.2million while Mamza was charged with the diversion of $2.3million within the same period, all being grant from FIFA.
In the summary of case sighted by our reporter, the embattled NFF staff were investigated following a petition written to the EFCC by the Minister of Youth and Sport, Solomon Dalung on December 20, 2016.
The petition was said to be against the management of NFF and its subsidiaries. “The petition alleges that the NFF misappropriated the grants from FIFA to NFF for the development of football in Nigeria,” the court paper read in part.
Aside the investigating officers and the President of NFF, Amaju Pinnick, others expected to testify before the court includes: Deputy Director of Account of NFF, Atabo David; Deputy Secretary General (Technical Matters), Dr Emmanuel Edom Ikpere; and Executive Secretary of NFF, Dr Muhammed Sanusi.
Upon the plea of not-guilty by the defendants, prosecution counsel, Sir Steve Odiase asked the court for a date to enable him assemble the witnesses to prove the prosecution’s case. However, counsel for the defendants, Arinze Egbo urged the court to grant bail to the defendants.
Without objection to the bail application, the trial judge, Justice Peter Affen subsequently granted bail to the defendants on the terms of the administrative bail earlier granted to them by the EFCC which
include a N5million bond each and one surety each that must not be less than Grade Level 14. He however added that the defendants must deposit their international passport with the court registry.
The matter was thereafter adjourned to November 28 for commencement of trial.
The ongoing case may come as surprise to only those who are not conversant with the history of missing moneys in the NFF. Indeed, this is not the first time money will develop wings in the coffers of the NFF. The only difference is that the amount involved in the present case is definitely mind-boggling.
It will be recalled that in 2009, the glasshouse was hit by a major scandal when the sum of $200, 000 reportedly disappeared from the coffers of the NFF.
The money was meant for the preparation of the Super Eagles 2010 World Cup qualifier against Mozambique. Up to this moment, the exact amount of money that disappeared is not known.
While the NFF claimed only $200, 000 got missing, the then Director General of the National Sports Commission, Dr. Patrick Ekeji insisted it was $236,0000 but staff of the glasshouse gave their own figure as $400,000.
Although after investigations, the prime suspects in the case of the missing dollars were charged to court, they were all acquitted in 2010.
In addition, the sum of $40, 000 reportedly got missing in 2017 in the NFF and a female relative of a former NFF president was said to be responsible for the disappearance of the money.
It was said that the lady who was on industrial training in the NFF secretariat took the money to two middle-aged fraudsters who promised to double the sum for her.
Even as the money doublers were apprehended by the Police, the offence was said to have been swept under the carpet.
Shortly after the Falconets returned from the 2018 Women World Cup, news broke that the sum of $10,000 meant for bonuses and allowances of the players and their officials was missing.
This time, a female staff in the Women Football Department of the NFF who was also a member of NFF delegation to the world championship that held in France was accused of carting away the money.
As usual, there was deafening hullabaloo but up to this moment, no one knows exactly what has become of the case that only earned another round of investigation.
The foregoing shows clearly that the NFF is not new to cases of missing money. However, the present one may be hard to sweep under the carpet because of the amount involved.
Secondly, it is said the target of the antigraft agency is not just the actual perpetrators of the criminal breach of trust but the bigwigs in the NFF under whose watch the offences were committed.
Many are of the opinion that it is practically impossible for the three offenders in the N3.4billion diversion to commit the acts without the knowledge of the top hierarchy of the NFF.
It would be recalled that shortly after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, four top officials of the NFF, the president, Amaju Pinnick, the 2nd vice-president, Alhaji Shehu Dikko, the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi and the technical committee chairman, Ahmed Yusuf Fresh were said to be quizzed by the EFCC following the petition written against them by a former Super Eagles coach, James Peters.
This was in addition to the petition written against the NFF by the ministry of Youth and sports in 2016.
Will the present case by the EFCC against the trio of Andekin, Zaka and Mamza further reveal more rots in the glasshouse or will it go the way of previous scandals? Observers and sports lovers in the country and around the world are eager to know.