Factional leader of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ambassador Chris Giwa, has had a hellish weekend as he was interrogated by the police on Friday shortly after his club Giwa FC was expelled from the Nigeria Professional Football League by the League Management Company (LMC) for its failure to play three cumulative matches.
The Giwa-led faction was inaugurating a state FA Normalisation Committee at the Star View Palace Hotel, Abuja, when police stormed the venue and whisked the self-acclaimed NFF leader away, Goal reports.
The order for his interrogation reportedly came directly from the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, Wilson Inalegwu, whose men asked Giwa out and drove him away in a black Toyota Camry.
Shortly after the police took Giwa away, another batch of armed mobile policemen numbering around 38 stormed the hotel chanting war songs.
On his release in the evening, Ambassador Giwa told the battery of reporters that there was nothing fishy or serious about his invitation by the Police.
“What the CP did is the right thing because he is in charge of the security of the territory,” Giwa said.
“But if you want me to tell you my discussion with the CP it’s like if you see me in the room with my wife and you ask what we were doing. But to your question, there was a gathering of people here and to the best of my own knowledge he has the right to do what he did.”
Meanwhile, Amaju Pinnick continues to function as the duly elected leader of the NFF after meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Sports during the week.
He later meet with the new Fifa general secretary, Ms Fatma Samoura in Abuja, where he praised her historic appointment.
“We are very much delighted at your appointment. You are not only the first woman in this very important post but you are also the first African.” Pinnick said.
“By your appointment, the FIFA President Gianni Infantino has shown his hand at the kind of organization he wants to run: a dynamic, efficient and people –friendly institution that will fulfill his motto of bringing football back to FIFA and FIFA back to football.”
