•Orders Pinnick-led board to appeal • Adjourns case indefinitely
A Federal High Court sitting in Jos, has granted the prayers of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appeal against the ruling brought before it by Yahaya Adamu and Senator Obinna Ogba to nullify the September 30, 2014 General Assembly and subsequent Elective Congress in Warri that brought Amaju Pinnick to office as the NFF president.
The court equally distanced itself from the widespread claim that it removed the Pinnick led-borad on April 8, 2016 as bandied by the Chris Giwa led-NFF faction. But on the other hand admitted nullifying the election.
Both Adamu and Ogba representing the Giwa led-faction had approached the honourable court on February 3, 2016 to re-list the suit against Pinnick which they withdrew after the intervention of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
While giving its decision, presiding judge, Musa Haruna Kurya affirmed that a case has the character of a new one when it is re-listed.
“Since the plantiffs have requested the court to re-list the case, it is only proper that they should be patient enough to pursue the case till the end, giving the court the opportunity
to hear both sides of the case and reach a final judgement,” read part of the ruling.
On this basis, Kurya has adjourned the case indefinitely (Sine die).
“In particular, there is no existing court order removing the Amaju Pinnick-led board from office.
The public was simply misled when the court order of 23rd of October, 2014 was widely circulated in place of that of April 8, 2016 and the orders that the Giwa Faction is relying on are dead, by virtue of an established principle of law in Nigeria and, particularly, by the clear and unambigous pronouncments of the Federal High Court made on 30th October, 2014.”
Relisting the case was one of the three corresponding orders of the court’s decision on April 8 to set the records right after all the pending motions were dicontinued and struck out. There was also an order to extend the time for the plantiff to re-list the suit for hearing and determination.
Giwa had claimed earlier that he got a ruling from a high court in Jos nullifying Amaju Pinnick’s election as NFF President and also asking that he, Giwa, take over the glass house as the new NFF President.
But the high court in Jos have come out to deny the claims made by Giwa insisting that at no time did the court mention Amaju Pinnick’s name.
