FIFA ban: Nigeria beats deadline

FIFA President, Sepp Blatter

A Jos High court on Thursday vacated an order which restrained the Nigeria Football Federation from functioning pending the hearing of a suit challenging the validity of the Aminu Maigari-led Nigeria Football Federation.

Nigeria has therefore   met FIFA’s conditions to avoid being   banned   after   the Maigari board was reinstated following the ruling. The board was sacked on July 6 by the NFF Congress.

FIFA had suspended Nigeria for government interference in the activities of the NFF.

The world football body had demanded the withdrawal of the (court) case as well as the reinstatement of the sacked board to enable the country to avoid being banned.

A July 17 deadline was given to reverse the decision.

Justice Philomena Lot of the High Court had last Friday issued the injunction, pending the hearing of the suit filed by the proprietor Nembe Football Club, Mrs. Ebiakpo Baribote.

The vacation of the order followed a withdrawal of the suit, which had led to the suspension of Nigeria from all football-related activists by FIFA.

The withdrawal of the suit was said to have been sequel to appeals made to the plaintiff in the interest of the country.

At a sitting of the court on Thursday, Justice Lot vacated the order following a motion filed to that effect by the counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Habila Ardzard.

Ardzard, who spoke to our correspondent at the end of the sitting, said his client had to listen to pleas by some Nigerians so that the country would not be banned.

He said, “My client as a patriotic Nigerian read the mood of FIFA and more so there is a female World Cup coming up soon as she would not like the country’s interests to be jeopardised by her action.