Nigeria escapes FIFA ban as court dismisses case against NFF

Nigeria on Thursday escaped the wrath of FIFA as Justice Ambrose
Allagoa of the Federal High court sitting in Jos, Plateau State on
Thursday withdrew the suit filed against the Nigeria Football
Federation by the Chris Giwa-led board.
FIFA had given Nigeria Thursday to put its football house in order or
be banned, which may not be reviewed until the board meeting in May
next year.
Messrs. Obinna Ogba and Yahaya Adamu of the Giwa-led faction had
dragged the immediate past President of NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari and
the NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu, to court seeking for orders to
restrain Maigari (first defendant), the NFF (second defendant) and the
36 Football associations (third defendants) from conducting another
election after the faction claimed that their principal was the duly
elected president of the association
The judge had fixed Thursday for the ruling on whether he has
jurisdiction to hear the case following the preliminary objection
raised by the NFF defence counsel, Mr. Damon Dashe, who questioned the
eligibility of the court to entertain the matter.
Dashe had on Monday filed a counter affidavit to the originating
summons, saying that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain
the matter since the plaintiffs hearing was delayed because he was not
properly served by the counsel for the plaintiff.
He had told the court that it was incumbent on it to hear the
preliminary objection, which would guide it on the proper path to
follow, adding that the prayers contained in the preliminary objection
is for the court to strike it out "because the plaintiffs have
submitted themselves to the NFF statutes."
However at the sitting of the court on Thursday, the judge announced
the dismissal of the suit following the withdrawal of the suit by the
plaintiffs.
Allagoa said, "The suit is hereby dismissed as the plaintiffs have
announced their intention to withdraw the case from the court."
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr. Ardzard Habilla, who spoke to our
correspondent after the ruling said his client had to withdraw the
case in the interest of Nigerian football and the appeal of
well-meaning Nigerians for an end to the crisis in the Glass House.
He said, "My client is well aware of the implication of another FIFA
ban on Nigeria and has also listened to the appeals from well meaning
Nigerians to withdraw the case from court."