NFA corruption matter: You’ve case to answer, court tells Lulu, others
By: Andrew Abah
SportingLife reports that Bolaji Ojo-Oba, former NFF secretary-general, Taiwo Ogunjobi, former executive board member and former first vice president of NFF, Amanze Uchegbulem are the other accused persons.
Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has dismissed the no-case-submission filed by Sani Lulu, a fomer President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in the corruption matter brought against him and three others by the EFCC.
SportingLife reports that Bolaji Ojo-Oba, former NFF secretary-general, Taiwo Ogunjobi, former executive board member and former first vice president of NFF, Amanze Uchegbulem are the other accused persons.
The accused persons were said to have mismanaged about N1.3 billion while in office between 2006 and 2010 in the eight count charge brought against them by the EFCC.
The judge, while dismissing the application said the defendants were bound by the Public Procurement Act (PPA) and should defend themselves in the charge levelled against them by the EFCC.
“Let me on equivocal term say that the NFA or NFF which manages football in Nigeria enjoys the patronage of the Federal Government either collective or through the National Sports Commission (NSC).
“The NFF status is not an act of the National Assembly but it must be subject to the laws of Nigeria.
“This is particularly in a case where the money being expended is tax payers’ money and not one of a limited liability company.
“The provision of section 60 of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) covers NFF and having said that, it followed that all the defendants are bound by the provision of the PPA”, the judge stated.
On the argument that the third accused person (Ojo-Oba) had no case to answer as he was not a board member of the NFF, the judge said the NFF General Secretary had much to answer.
Justice Evoh said this was evident where the NFF status bestowed on the General Secretary all the administrative work of the NFF Secretariat.
“By the provision of the law, the third defendant might be privy to the dealings of the NFF in a normal situation.
“This is equally brought by the provisions of article 42, 61, 65 and 66 respectively; what is more is that article 62 of the status defined the role of the third accused.
“It is obvious that the third accused is an active member of the NFF and does not need to be a board member to have been charged with other accused persons”, he said.
The judge, however, said that he can only determine the true position of the matter when the accused persons enter for their defense.
He subsequently dismissed the no-case-submission application and picked March 9, as date for the four accused persons to open their defense.
Mr Patrick Okolo (SAN), who represented counsels to the four accused persons, said the decision of the court to overrule them was a natural course of justice.
Okolo said: “We made a case that the accused persons have no case to answer but the judge has overruled us and what he is saying is that they need to react to evidence given by the prosecution.
“It is a natural course in the legal profession that if you are accused and if there is any element of information you dish out that require explanation, the accused can be called upon to explain and that is what the court has said.
“The next step is for us to call our witnesses to give evidence or to react to the evidence given by the prosecution.
“This will give us the opportunity to state our own side of the story and we have our four witnesses ready.”
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