Five chieftains of the Nigeria football federation (NFF) have allegedly filed a case at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), over what they termed unjust interrogation, illegal arrests and unfair detentions.
Led by NFF President Amaju Pinnick and his second Vice, Shehu Dikko who also doubles as LMC Chairman, the accused have allegedly instructed their lawyers to ask the Court to drop all charges against them, claiming that the petitions presently before the ICPC were the same petitions sent before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP).
In the well packaged petition, they also prayed the Court to discharge and acquit them of all corruption charges and allow them live their normal lives after over four years of molestation and frustration.
They had earlier lodged the same petitions before the Attoney General of the Federation, Justice Abubakar Malami, who in turn, sent a request accross board, asking that all the files of the NFF before all anti-graft agencies be sent to his office for harmonization.
The SPIP and EFCC refused to bulge and have since witnessed the sack of their Chairmen as the embattled Mr Obono Obla is now running from pillar to post over allegations of fraud cooked up against him following his refusal to bend.
Same fate has befallen sacked EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, as he fights to clear his name of various allegations of fraud allegedly spiced up by Justice Abubakar Malami to frustrate him from going ahead with the NFF case and several others that are of interest to the Attoney General.
On his part, ICPC Chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye according to report, politely wrote a letter to the Attoney General informing him that as much he was willing to respect orders from above, the NFF matter is one that has already caught the attention of Mr President and any attempt to stop the case now will attract suspicions from above.
This response struck Malami below the belt as he immediately summoned the NFF chieftains and told them he was washing his hands off their matter.
Realizing that they are now between the devil and the deep blue sea, Pinnick and friends immediately filed a case at an Abuja Federal High Court on the grounds that since both cases have been struck out previously at a Federal High Court and at the SPIP Investigation Panel, the Court should strike out same and stop the ICPC from further investigating them on what they called duplicated charges.
