NFF crisis: Appeal court dismisses Giwa’s suit

                                                                     

The Court of Appeal sitting in Jos has dismissed the judgment of the Federal High Court, which relisted  the case filed by Chris Giwa against the Nigeria Football Federation and its President,  Amaju Pinnick.

The Federal High Court had in a ruling on October  23 2014, granted Giwa’s  request nullifying the result of the  NFF General Assembly in Warri  and the subsequent elective congress that brought in the current NFF board led by Pinnick into office.

However,  the  Goodluck Jonathan administration  intervened as the country faced  an imminent FIFA ban, leading  to  the  Giwa  faction of the NFF to  withdraw the case.

But Messrs. Adama Yahaya and Obinna Ogba, acting on behalf of the Giwa faction,  again approached the court on March 10, 2016 asking it to re-list the case.

On April 8, Justice Musa Kurya, who heard the relisted case, ordered the recognition of  Giwa as the president of the NFF.  He also barred anybody from interfering with the duties and functions of the NFF board under the leadership of  Giwa.

It was the ruling that the  Pinnick  board  appealed.

Justice Joseph Tur, in his judgment on Monday held that the discontinuation of the cases on October 30, 2014, which was affirmed by the court stands, adding that the ruling of the court on April 8 recognising  Giwa  was null and void.

Justice Tur said that the case had been discontinued and that in the eyes of the law  the plaintiffs were wrong  asking that the case be relisted.

He said in ruling that Giwa be recognised as the president of  the NFF, the court should have taken into consideration the circumstances of the case giving that it had been struck out and discontinued by the same court on October 30, 2014.

Justice Tur  also  faulted the submissions of the counsel  for the respondents  Habila Azard, in which the decision of the court was made based on the undertaking that was taken prior to the judgment  of October 30, 2014  and stated the process of relisting was not followed.

The appeal court further faulted the ruling of the federal high court made on the April 8,  2016 and said it should have considered the circumstances of the case giving that it struck out and discontinued by the same court on the October, 30 2014.

Tur while allowing the appeal of the NFF, set aside the ruling of the Federal High Court made on April 8, 2016 and reinstated the ruling made on the  October  30, 2014. He awarded N50,000 cost against the two parties.