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NFF Ethics Committee Bans Super Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf and fined him $5000 following bribery allegations
The Nigeria Football Federation has banned a Super Eagles coach, Salisu Yusuf, from all football-related activities for a year.
The coach was also asked to pay a fine of $5,000 to the NFF within three months.
The decision was announced in a statement, seen by Wuzup Naija, on Wednesday.
Salisu Yusuf was implicated after he was captured in a video receiving $1,000 cash from investigative journalists, posing as football agents, who requested that two players be selected for a major championship.
The statement said the NFF Committee on Ethics and Fair Play arrived at the decision after considering a complaint by the NFF and Salisu’s defence of the video documentary.
The statement noted that Salisu has been found guilty of receiving “cash gift” to field certain players at the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations.
He was also promised 15 per cent of the players’ contract fee if they are signed by a foreign club.
The video clip of the alleged transaction, which was made public by BBC African Eye on July 24, showed the coach receiving the sum of $1000 from undercover reporters led by Anas Arameyaw Anas.
The meeting took place in Ghana during the 2017 WAFU Cup where Nigeria finished second after losing the final 4-1 to host Ghana.
The statement reads in part:
In its report submitted to the NFF Secretariat on Tuesday, days after inviting the coach to state his own side of matters, the Committee, chaired by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, said it:
1) Established from the admission of Coach Salisu Yusuf and also found as a fact from the documentary and video evidence before it, that he accepted the cash gift of $1,000 offered by Tigers Player’s Agency, an undercover reporter, purportedly interested in acting on behalf of Players Osas Okoro and Rabiu Ali, for their inclusion in the list of players for 2018 CHAN Competition in Morocco.
2) The Committee found as a fact that it was not an error of judgment on the part of Coach Salisu Yusuf but a conscious and deliberate decision to have accepted the cash gift of $1,000 from the decoy player agent/undercover reporter, purportedly interested in acting on behalf of Players Osas Okoro and Rabiu Ali, even though the evidence before the Committee did not establish that his conduct influenced the choice of the two players.
3) That the two Players could have made the team to 2018 CHAN Competition in Morocco on the basis of their talent and performance.
4) That Coach Salisu Yusuf did not accept the offer of 15% of the anticipated transfer fees of the said players, as there was no follow –up action on the promise.
5) That the act of the Coach, which was widely published on the British Broadcasting Corporation, has a damaging effect on the reputation and integrity of Nigerian Football, as he ought to have conducted himself more professionally in line with the Code of Conduct signed alongside his Contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, as his conduct in public and in secret should be exemplary, since coaches are role models.
6) That the FIFA Code of Ethics, NFF Code of Ethics and FIFA Disciplinary Code, did not contemplate negligence or error of judgment as a defence to violation of any of the provisions as contained therein, as punitive measures must be adopted to serve as deterrent to other intending offenders, even though, that he is a first time offender.
Committee’s decision: “In accordance with Art. 22, FIFA Disciplinary Code, he is hereby banned for the period of one year, from partaking or involvement or participation in any football relatedactivity, effective from the date of this decision. He is also fined in the sum of $5,000 to be paid within three (3) months of the date of this decision…” The Committee also ruled that an appeal against the decision can be made to the NFF Appeals Committee.
With Alhaji Mainasara Illo (Member), Reverend Justin Chidi Okoroji (Member) and Barr. Joshua Onoja (Secretary) also present, the Committee said it passed its verdict of guilt on the defendant based on Art. 20, as well as Art. 21 (1) and 21 (3) of the NFF Code of Ethics. It also made reference to Art. 10 and 11 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
Art. 20: “Persons bound by this Code may only offer or accept gifts or other benefits to and from persons within or outside NFF, or in conjunction with intermediaries or related parties as defined in this Code, which i) have symbolic or trivial value ii) exclude any influence for the execution or omission of an act that is related to their official activities or falls within their discretion iii) are not contrary to their duties iv) did not create any undue pecuniary or other advantage and v) did not create a conflict of interest.
Art 21 (1): “Persons bound by this Code must not offer, promise, give or accept any personal or undue pecuniary advantage or other advantage in order to obtain or retain business or any other improper advantage to or from anyone within or outside NFF. Such acts are prohibited; regardless of whether carried out directly or indirectly through, or in conjunction with, intermediaries or related parties as defined in this Code. In particular, persons bound by this Code must not offer, promise, give or accept any undue pecuniary or other advance for the execution or omission of an act that is related to their official activities and is contrary to their duties or falls within their discretion. Any such offer must be reported to the Ethics Committee and any failure to do so shall be sanctionable in accordance with this Code.”
Art. 21 (3): “Persons bound by this Code must refrain from any activity or behaviour that might give rise to the appearance or suspicion of improper conduct as described in the foregoing sections, or any attempt thereof.”
Before the Committee’s sitting, the NFF Integrity Unit headed by Dr.Christian Emeruwa, which commenced preliminary investigation when the documentary was first made public, had already submitted a report to the NFF General Secretary based on its work.
….Oseloka Obi, son of Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, has reacted to viral gay allegations after photos of him with Kent Okwesa surfaced online.
Oseloka Obi, son of the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has broken his silence following viral allegations linking him to homosexuality after photographs of him with London-based British-Nigerian, Kent Okwesa, surfaced online this week.
The pictures, which emerged on Wednesday, showed Oseloka and Okwesa sitting closely at a restaurant in the United Kingdom, sparking a wave of online speculation and gossip.
In a detailed statement released on Thursday, Oseloka dismissed the rumours as malicious fabrications, describing them as part of a broader attempt to discredit his father because of his involvement in Nigerian politics.
“Because of my father’s involvement in Nigerian politics, there has been a persistent curiosity and, at times, malicious obsession with me. I have no social media presence and no interest in maintaining one, so I rarely correct these falsehoods. But perhaps it is time I address them,” he wrote.
The actor and filmmaker emphasized that he is pursuing his own career path, far removed from politics and business, and insisted that ordinary photos of him were being misrepresented to push false narratives.
“This pattern has become all too familiar: individuals opposed to my father seize ordinary photos of me — images that are neither hidden nor secret and repackage them with false stories. These are not revelations. They are not exposés. They are simply misrepresentations; fiction spun from pictures. What is being circulated is gossip,” he stated.
Oseloka further explained that unlike many children of Nigerian politicians, he has never relied on nepotism, noting that his father’s wealth is not his and that he is determined to build his own life. He highlighted that his chosen path in theatre and filmmaking celebrates diversity of race, class, sexuality, and identity but stressed that this does not translate into the allegations being made against him.
He described the allegations as a distraction from Nigeria’s pressing issues such as insecurity, economic hardship, poor healthcare, and failing infrastructure.
“Our nation still struggles with insecurity, a weakened economy, crumbling infrastructure, failing healthcare, and politicians who steal from the people they swore to serve. And yet, for some, the priority is to spread gossip about who Peter Obi’s son appears with in a photo. This is a distraction from the real crises that matter to all Nigerians,” he wrote.
Standing by His Father
Affirming his support for his father’s political ambition, Oseloka said:
“My father has my vote, not because he is my father, but because he is the right man for the job. If others wish to go low, invent scandals, or attack me to wound him, they are free to do so. But we will go high, and we will continue to focus on the future of Nigeria.”
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