January 6, 2022
After conclusion of preliminary investigation on the assault on an Assistant Referee, the League Management Company (LMC) has announced the immediate expulsion of Sunday Etefia, the Dakkada FC Assistant Coach.
The LMC also fined Dakkada FC a total sum of N3.5m and ordered to play their next three home matches at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin for breach of Rules B13.52 and C9 following the incidents of the MatchDay 4 fixture.
The LMC also recommended a review of the performance of the match Officials including the Match Commissioner, Dr. Mrs. N Anyanwu for her failure to duly report the incident of assault on the Assistant Referee 11. It noted that ” curiously, the Match Commissioner identified the perpetrator as a fan whereas it was a club official”
Also recommended for a performance review is the Match Referee, Mathew Tanimu from Plateau State for his match Management and failure to timely submit the match report given the serious incident.
Etefia was indicted for assaulting Assistant Referee 11, Sani Baba, at the end of the Matchday 4 fixture against Remo Stars in Uyo. The LMC recommended to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to review the coaching licence of Etefia “as you have failed the threshold to be a coach under the NFF Licence”
In the Summary Jurisdiction notice, the LMC noted that Dakkada FC was charged for “breach of Rule B13.52 in that on Sunday, the 2nd of January 2022, you did not fulfill your responsibility, as the designated home team, to ensure adequate and effective security for persons involved in the match, wherein a match official (AR 2 – Sani Baba) was assaulted and battered by one of your officials (Sunday Etefia) as the match officials proceeded to leave the pitch at full time; and the General Manager of the visiting team was also harassed and assaulted in the tunnel at half time”.
In the second charge, Dakkada FC was found in breach of Rule C9 for failing to control their officials and ensure their proper conduct at all times. The battering of Assistant Referee, Baba by Etefia and harassment of Remo Stars General Manager were cited as such improper conduct.
Consequently, the LMC fined the Club N3m for failure to provide adequate security in the course of the match.
Dakkada were ordered to pay the sum of N250,000 each to the Assistant Referee and General Manager of Remo Stars for medical expenses and may include any additional verifiable and authenticated medical costs.
While ordering Dakkada to play a minimum of three home matches at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, the LMC ruled that the club would only be permitted to return to its home stadium upon receipt of a satisfactory report or update on the formal report to the Police and prosecution of the official involved in the alleged assault. The prosecution must be authenticated by the LMC legal team and compliance unit.
The club must pay the stipulated fines within seven working days and have a two points deduction which shall be suspended for a probationary period of the remainder of the season.
Both the club and the charged official have 48 hours from the date of the notice to submit to the summary jurisdiction or elect to face a disciplinary hearing.
January 5, 2022
Our attention has been drawn to a video making the rounds on social media which indicates that one of the match officials who took charge of the Match Day Four fixture of the Nigeria Professional Football League between Dakkada and Remo Stars in Uyo last Sunday may have been assaulted.
We wish to state that we had not noticed the gory incident as indicated by the circulated video before now mainly because it may have occurred at the end of the match but we completely frown at it.
Our prestigious club has zero tolerance for any form of thuggery and other forms of indiscipline which are capable of bringing the beautiful game to disrepute including assault on match officials or members of the visiting team as available records, right from our days in the Nigeria National League, bear us out in this regard.
To this end we wish to state as follows;
1. That the individual who has been indicted by the video has been identified.
2. That for security reasons the identity of the indicted individual would remain concealed from the public but revealed to the appropriate quarters including the League Management Company (LMC) and the Nigeria Police Force.
3. That the incident has been reported to the Nigeria Police Force through the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Akwa Ibom state Football Association who is a Superintendent of Police for thorough investigation and prosecution.
4. That the identified individual has been banned with immediate effect from all activities related to Dakkada Football Club for an initial period of one year pending the outcome of both an on-going Internal review of the incident as well as the outcome of the investigation of the Police.
In the interim, we sincerely apologize to the affected match official and the entirety of the Nigeria (Football) Referees Association, the LMC, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the general public.
September 27, 2021
If the words of the Chairman, League Management Company (LMC), Mallam Shehu Dikko is anything to go by, then the kick-off for the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League season is set for the Month of October.
The LMC boss declared October 2021; without a specific date as the target to start new season so as to conclude by May 2022. Dikko disclosed this during the visit of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Abuja branch, to his office.
Dikko pointed out that plans were underway to align the league with the calendar of CAF and that the reason the 2020/2021 season rounded off in August was to enable the 2021/2022 season kick off early.
“We have a mandate from CAF to align our league with their calendar, the reason we have to do all that we did in August to finish our league and now we have to start early that is certain 2021/2022 we have to finish by May regardless of what happened. We just have to start the new season early and our clubs are ready for these challenges.
“We have to come to a conclusion and call our clubs to a meeting on when we will finish our season, the CAF competition starts in September whatever we are doing we have to start by September or early October, we have to agree on the date to start we just finished our season on August 8 the players are not machine we have to give them a month rest and now the continental teams are already in camp now.”
Speaking further, Shehu Dikko said:
“ideally the CAF competition starts on the 10th of September so whatever we are doing we have to start as quickly as we can.
“So when the CAF competition starts officially and our clubs are readjusting to the new CAF schedule and some of them are into preseason now, we have to target end of September or the 1st week in October.
“We must meet our club owners and we need to have a clearer date that’s why you can see that most of the clubs are already back in camp and hopefully once we cross these hurdles we will be back to the normal league scheduled for CAF competition,”
Akwa United Football Club of Uyo, were crowned Champions at the conclusion of the 2020/2021 season.
September 24, 2021
26 players from the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, have been invited for an invitational tournament in Congo later in the Year.
Some players who featured for the Home based Eagles in the friendly match against Mexico last July were also recalled, including Stanley Nwabili, Tope Olusesi and Adekunle Adeleke.
The team will be handled by NFF Technical director Coach Austin Eguavoen and his assistant, Paul Aigbogun.
The Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Lobi Stars), Mohammed Galadima (Wikki Tourists), Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United)
Defenders: Christopher Nwaeze (Kwara United), Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United), Tope Olusesi (Rangers), Fahad Usman (Kano Pillars), Sanusi Abdulmutalif (Katsina United), Henry Ochuba (Adamawa United), Adeleke Adekunle (Abia Warriors), Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United)
Midfielders: Steven Jude (Kwara United), Ugochuckwu Ugwuoke (Rangers), Cyril Olisema (Enyimba), Auwalu Ali Mallam (Rivers United), Mustapha Jibrin (Kano Pillars), Aliyu Mansoor (Katsina United), Chigozie Obasi (Enyimba)
Forwards: Christian Nnaji, Chinonso Eziekwe (Rangers), Tosin Omoyele (Enyimba), Nerot Silas (Plateau United), Uche Onwuasonaya (Rivers United), Emo James (Bayelsa United), Rabiu Zulkifilu (Plateau United), Silas Nwankwo (Nasarawa United)
