Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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Amaju Pinnick investigation: Questions raised ...

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Amaju Pinnick investigation: Serious Questions raised over integrity of Nigerian probe

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By Paul Nicholson

September 19 – Doubts have been raised over the integrity of the Nigerian government investigation into Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick that has seen property reportedly seized, including his home in Park View Estate, in the Ikoyi suburb of Lagos.

Two years ago a similar investigation was conducted into the affairs of the NFF by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and targeting Pinnick. No charges were issued.

The current investigation has been clouded, among other things, by the suspension in August of the lead figure in the current investigation, Okoi Obono-Obla. Obono-Obla was a senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property. His suspension was ordered by Buhari.

The specifics of the Nigerian allegations against Pinnick have yet to be detailed in full. As regards property seizures, an ‘Events Centre’ in his home town of Warri was listed even though it was acquired before his election to the NFF presidency in 2014 and hence, logically, could not be deemed to be bought through the proceeds of alleged football corruption. His Park View Estate home was similarly acquired before he won presidency of the NFF – he is still living in that property which suggests it hasn’t been seized.

Pinnick was already a well-off businessman in his own right, working within Nigeria’s oil services sector. It is a role he still maintains, despite his extensive Nigerian and African football commitments.

Football in Nigeria has long been a political game. In 2014 Pinnick’s election to the NFF presidency followed a very bitter election battle against Iyke Igbokwe, Suleiman Muazu, Chris Giwa and Shehu Dikko, who is now his 2nd Vice-President.

Chris Giwa’s thirst for power at the NFF has remained unquenched, and in 2016 he and his supporters tried to occupy the NFF’s Glass House headquarters in Abuja, having won a court ruling in Nigeria that protested Pinnick’s election. They were eventually escorted by the police from the building.

This did not prevent Giwa – who appeared to have government support – from challenging the 2018 election against Pinnick, which he lost. Giwa – who still believed he was the NFF’s rightful leader – again took occupancy of the NFF’s HQ (while Pinnick was at the World Cup in Russia with the national team). This was despite Giwa serving a five-year ban from the game, imposed in February 2018, for breaches of FIFA’s ethics code.

This time FIFA stepped in, saying that Pinnick must return to full control or the country would be suspended because of government interference in the affairs of the association.

Nigeria’s past Sport Minister Solomon Dalung, acting on the court ruling, had previously ordered Pinnick and his board to comply with the court and leave the NFF and its building, but he was ultimately forced to back down.

What is the motivation for the investigation?

The question now being asked is whether the investigation into Pinnick is motivated by political ambition and how much of it can be related to provable allegations of graft and corruption.

One Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) insider has suggested that outside pressure has been received in Nigeria to have Pinnick removed, with the suspicion of the hand of CAF president Ahmad in the process.

Ahmad is known to be in touch with Pinnick’s rivals – particularly former NFF exco member Chris Green. He also engineered the removal of Pinnick as CAF’s first vice president following his own detention in June by French police, investigating CAF’s own commercial dealings and multiple allegations of corruption.

On his release by the French authorities, Ahmad took the view that Pinnick had used his detention to plot a coup and had to be removed.

And here, there is an irony – when Ahmad’s own CAF executive committee were gathering to challenge the integrity of his presidency, there were reportedly 13 members prepared to vote for his removal from the management of CAF. Pinnick, as first vice president, baulked at taking action and in doing so effectively ensured Ahmad remained in position.

While Ahmad has repeatedly proved himself an incapable and (allegedly) corrupt CAF president, he has proved himself a ruthlessly efficient political operator.

Credit:InsideWorldfootbal
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

Post by fabio »

It reads like one of those paid articles.

The ball is in the court of the ICPC.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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As stated earlier, an asset doesn't have to have been bought with the allegedly stolen money to be seized/frozen before a trial related to alleged financial malfeasance.

And the problem with talking about the murky politics behind the persecution of Pinnick .... is that Pinnick himself is a participant and beneficiary of exactly the kind of murky politics his spokespersons are talking about. That includes the coercive power of the federal government, used by a prior administration to facilitate his initial election, now being used by the current administration to truncate his tenure and possibly jail him. The contentiousness of his tenure (the Chris Giwa stuff, etc) emanated from the contentiousness of how he was "elected" in the first place. At the continental level, the disgrace named Ahmad, a man terrible enough to make me miss Hayatou, would not be in a position to shaft Pinnick, if Pinnick hadn't helped put the incompetent in the position in the first place, in exchange for elevation to number two at CAF.

If you swim around in mud, you will be covered with mud. The politics benefited him at the expense of his rivals, and now the same politics is being used by his rivals against him. And all of this is aside from the question of his guilt or innocence.....

PS: And did I read somewhere that he is the one who procured the prostitutes that led to the expulsion of Aiyegbeni, Agali and Babayaro in 2004? Na real wa.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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The Eagle wrote:As stated earlier, an asset doesn't have to have been bought with the allegedly stolen money to be seized/frozen before a trial related to alleged financial malfeasance.

And the problem with talking about the murky politics behind the persecution of Pinnick .... is that Pinnick himself is a participant and beneficiary of exactly the kind of murky politics his spokespersons are talking about. That includes the coercive power of the federal government, used by a prior administration to facilitate his initial election, now being used by the current administration to truncate his tenure and possibly jail him. The contentiousness of his tenure (the Chris Giwa stuff, etc) emanated from the contentiousness of how he was "elected" in the first place. At the continental level, the disgrace named Ahmad, a man terrible enough to make me miss Hayatou, would not be in a position to shaft Pinnick, if Pinnick hadn't helped put the incompetent in the position in the first place, in exchange for elevation to number two at CAF.

If you swim around in mud, you will be covered with mud. The politics benefited him at the expense of his rivals, and now the same politics is being used by his rivals against him. And all of this is aside from the question of his guilt or innocence.....

PS: And did I read somewhere that he is the one who procured the prostitutes that led to the expulsion of Aiyegbeni, Agali and Babayaro in 2004? Na real wa.
Absolutely not true. In 2014, the government actually tried to impose Giwa on the NFF with sham elections (where most NFF delegates did not participate or were prevented from participating). There was a dispute and then NFF held the proper elections and the delegates democratically voted Pinnick in.

The resultant dispute went to FIFA for investigation. FIFA found that Giwa's election was illegitimate and did not meet FIFA's rules while the election of Pinnick met FIFA's rules. So they ruled for Pinnick's board. Also, let's not forget that Pinnick won re-election fair and square under a different and even MORE hostile govt with Dalung constantly trying to sabotage his efforts every step of the way. Voting for Pinnick is basically NFF stakeholders saying a big F**K YOU to govt intervention, TWICE now.

If the govt wants to get Pinnick out with sham investigations, they have all the power to do so but Nigerian football will be the loser here because that would undo the all the progress NFF has made towards independence in the last 4 years or so.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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Orion wrote:Absolutely not true. In 2014, the government actually tried to impose Giwa on the NFF with sham elections (where most NFF delegates did not participate or were prevented from participating). There was a dispute and then NFF held the proper elections and the delegates democratically voted Pinnick in.

The resultant dispute went to FIFA for investigation. FIFA found that Giwa's election was illegitimate and did not meet FIFA's rules while the election of Pinnick met FIFA's rules. So they ruled for Pinnick's board. Also, let's not forget that Pinnick won re-election fair and square under a different and even MORE hostile govt with Dalung constantly trying to sabotage his efforts every step of the way. Voting for Pinnick is basically NFF stakeholders saying a big F**K YOU to govt intervention, TWICE now.

If the govt wants to get Pinnick out with sham investigations, they have all the power to do so but Nigerian football will be the loser here because that would undo the all the progress NFF has made towards independence in the last 4 years or so.
Giwa definitely has supporters in the political circles of Nigeria .... they all do, Pinnick inclusive. That is the nature of the murky politics I am talking about. None of them would have risen to the point of contesting the election if they didn't have "connections". However, the interference of Pinnick's "connections" were decisive, inclusive of the use of the security agencies. As you and I are typing here, there is almost definitely backroom politics going on regarding the current investigations and the trial. It wouldn't surprise me if all the charges are dropped, but it also wouldn't surprise me if Pinnick's rivals bring him down.

As far as Pinnick's reelection .... I don't know if he "misappropriated" millions of dollars, and because I don't trust the courts, I will take any verdict with a grain of salt. They could find him guilty even if he is innocent, or find him innocent even if he is guilty. But if it is true that Pinnick "misappropriated" the money, it would have been to buy his reelection. The suggestion that principles of some kind drove the vote is .... unlikely.

Heck, if I sound like I borderline suspect Pinnick, it isn't entirely about him as an individual. The NFF has probably been organizationally corrupt since "forever". I daresay my comments on this thread would have been the same if Chris Giwa had been NFF boss these last five years. And it is not just the NFF, but Nigerian football generally. I suspect forensic audits into the accounts of state-owned and privately-owned football clubs in Nigeria would turn up decades of continuous financial malfeasance. Not necessarily by everyone involved in the club's management .... but enough to be called systemic.

Anyway, I have no power over Nigerian football .... or our law enforcement agencies and courts. They will do what they will do and it doesn't matter what I think. Mine is to watch them like TV.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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Orion wrote: Absolutely not true. In 2014, the government actually tried to impose Giwa on the NFF with sham elections (where most NFF delegates did not participate or were prevented from participating). There was a dispute and then NFF held the proper elections and the delegates democratically voted Pinnick in.

The resultant dispute went to FIFA for investigation. FIFA found that Giwa's election was illegitimate and did not meet FIFA's rules while the election of Pinnick met FIFA's rules. So they ruled for Pinnick's board. Also, let's not forget that Pinnick won re-election fair and square under a different and even MORE hostile govt with Dalung constantly trying to sabotage his efforts every step of the way. Voting for Pinnick is basically NFF stakeholders saying a big F**K YOU to govt intervention, TWICE now.

If the govt wants to get Pinnick out with sham investigations, they have all the power to do so but Nigerian football will be the loser here because that would undo the all the progress NFF has made towards independence in the last 4 years or so.
A hostile govt really: According to Pinnick
He said, “The NFF is excited by the victory of President Buhari. We attribute all the successes that we have had in football in the past four years to His Excellency, working closely and in unison with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other key members of his administration.”
He said, “The Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been providing the conducive environment necessary for the game of football to thrive in our dear country and we believe that the next four years will be even more fruitful for Nigerian football.

“We will always remain very grateful to His Excellency and his Government. We have received the maximum support from the administration. We will work even harder in the next four years to take Nigerian Football to even higher heights of excellence.”
https://www.pulse.ng/sports/football/nf ... on/cbxxl1m

If Aso Rock wanted Pinnick out, he would have been long gone.

We are waiting for the next person to blame as Dalung is gone as well :D
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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fabio wrote:
Orion wrote: Absolutely not true. In 2014, the government actually tried to impose Giwa on the NFF with sham elections (where most NFF delegates did not participate or were prevented from participating). There was a dispute and then NFF held the proper elections and the delegates democratically voted Pinnick in.

The resultant dispute went to FIFA for investigation. FIFA found that Giwa's election was illegitimate and did not meet FIFA's rules while the election of Pinnick met FIFA's rules. So they ruled for Pinnick's board. Also, let's not forget that Pinnick won re-election fair and square under a different and even MORE hostile govt with Dalung constantly trying to sabotage his efforts every step of the way. Voting for Pinnick is basically NFF stakeholders saying a big F**K YOU to govt intervention, TWICE now.

If the govt wants to get Pinnick out with sham investigations, they have all the power to do so but Nigerian football will be the loser here because that would undo the all the progress NFF has made towards independence in the last 4 years or so.
A hostile govt really: According to Pinnick
He said, “The NFF is excited by the victory of President Buhari. We attribute all the successes that we have had in football in the past four years to His Excellency, working closely and in unison with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other key members of his administration.”
He said, “The Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been providing the conducive environment necessary for the game of football to thrive in our dear country and we believe that the next four years will be even more fruitful for Nigerian football.

“We will always remain very grateful to His Excellency and his Government. We have received the maximum support from the administration. We will work even harder in the next four years to take Nigerian Football to even higher heights of excellence.”
https://www.pulse.ng/sports/football/nf ... on/cbxxl1m

If Aso Rock wanted Pinnick out, he would have been long gone.

We are waiting for the next person to blame as Dalung is gone as well :D
Let's face it, Dalung only got away with the nonsense he was doing because he had the tacit support of Buhari. Pinnick, on the other hand, being a consummate politician knew he had to go to the source, and he did everything he could to curry favour Buhari to gain some reprieve from Dalung's onslaught. We see that in some silliness like SE players making a round trip to Abuja to shake Buhari's hand when they should be on the plane to Europe to prepare for the World Cup. That thing he said above is all part of that attempt to ingratiate. The reality is that Buhari was allowing Dalung to get away with a lot of nonsense.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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blueangel wrote:ICPC Seizes Amaju Pinnick's Properties In Warri, Abuja, Lagos, London

Aside from the investigations by the ICPC, the EFCC and the SPIP are also looking into the financial dealings of the NFF.

Several properties belonging to president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick and other top officials of the federation have been seized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The ICPC have moved against Pinnick and top NFF scribe as they investigate allegations of financial misappropriation.

Pinnick is the owner of half of the 12 properties that the ICPC said they have seized during the investigation.

The anti-corruption agency published a newspaper advert about the properties seized.

Properties of the NFF boss seized by the ICPC include a mansion in Ikoyi, a bungalow in GRA, Warri, an event centre in Warri, another bungalow in Asaba, an apartment in London and a plot of land in Abuja.

Two houses in Sokoto and Abuja belonging to the General Secretary of the NFF Mohammed Sanusi were also seized.

Ahmed Yusuf, a member of the NFF Executive Committee had two bungalows in Minna seized by the ICPC.

The anti-corruption agency also revealed that they have sealed the homes of the second Vice President of the federation Shehu Dikko.

"We can't go into further details beyond the fact that many officials of the NFF are under investigation," ICPC spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa is quoted to say by the BBC.

"It's basically because what they have is in excess of what they have earned."

The ICPC are investigating allegations of the diversion of sponsorship money received by the NFF.

Aside from the investigations by the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Special Presidential Investigatory Panel (SPIP) are also looking into the financial dealings of NFF's top brass.

Dikko and other NFF top brass have all been interrogated by the EFCC while SPIP in January recommended that president Pinnick be placed on a travel ban.

The Pinnick-led NFF have continued to deny all the allegations.

Source: https://ngg.ng/2019/09/19/nff-boss-amaj ... -the-icpc/
Do they have the capacity to seize property abroad?
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

Post by kalani JR »

What a goal!

Oops wrong thread, wow, I wonder what happened to his house. Maybe I should ignore this whole thread and the story will disappear.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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Corruption Case Against Pinnick, Others Withdrawn By Government

The Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu discharged and acquitted Pinnick, NFF Secretary, Sunusi Mohammed; 1st Vice-President, Seyi Akinwumi; 2nd Vice-President, Shehu Dikko and an executive member, Yusuff Fresh, after revealing that the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice wrote to withdraw the charges filed before the court by the disbanded Special Presidential and Investigation Panel.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKNOV 05, 2019

Image

The Nigerian Government on Tuesday withdrew the corruption charges against President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick and four other members of the board.

The Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu discharged and acquitted Pinnick, NFF Secretary, Sunusi Mohammed; 1st Vice-President, Seyi Akinwumi; 2nd Vice-President, Shehu Dikko and an executive member, Yusuff Fresh, after revealing that the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice wrote to withdraw the charges filed before the court by the disbanded Special Presidential and Investigation Panel.

The office of the AGF said that there was no basis for the charges filed against Pinnick and others

Mohammed Katu, counsel to the defendants while making his submission said, “We asked that since the prosecution has applied to withdraw the charges, the defendants should be acquitted.”

In May, Pinnick and four others were arraigned on 18 counts for allegedly diverting money gotten from the Federation of International Football Association for Nigeria’s appearing at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had also sealed properties belonging to Pinnick and other top ranking members of the NFF in relation to mismanagement of funds.

http://saharareporters.com/2019/11/05/c ... government
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

Post by metalalloy »

The Eagle wrote:
Orion wrote:Absolutely not true. In 2014, the government actually tried to impose Giwa on the NFF with sham elections (where most NFF delegates did not participate or were prevented from participating). There was a dispute and then NFF held the proper elections and the delegates democratically voted Pinnick in.

The resultant dispute went to FIFA for investigation. FIFA found that Giwa's election was illegitimate and did not meet FIFA's rules while the election of Pinnick met FIFA's rules. So they ruled for Pinnick's board. Also, let's not forget that Pinnick won re-election fair and square under a different and even MORE hostile govt with Dalung constantly trying to sabotage his efforts every step of the way. Voting for Pinnick is basically NFF stakeholders saying a big F**K YOU to govt intervention, TWICE now.

If the govt wants to get Pinnick out with sham investigations, they have all the power to do so but Nigerian football will be the loser here because that would undo the all the progress NFF has made towards independence in the last 4 years or so.
Giwa definitely has supporters in the political circles of Nigeria .... they all do, Pinnick inclusive. That is the nature of the murky politics I am talking about. None of them would have risen to the point of contesting the election if they didn't have "connections". However, the interference of Pinnick's "connections" were decisive, inclusive of the use of the security agencies. As you and I are typing here, there is almost definitely backroom politics going on regarding the current investigations and the trial. It wouldn't surprise me if all the charges are dropped, but it also wouldn't surprise me if Pinnick's rivals bring him down.

As far as Pinnick's reelection .... I don't know if he "misappropriated" millions of dollars, and because I don't trust the courts, I will take any verdict with a grain of salt. They could find him guilty even if he is innocent, or find him innocent even if he is guilty. But if it is true that Pinnick "misappropriated" the money, it would have been to buy his reelection. The suggestion that principles of some kind drove the vote is .... unlikely.

Heck, if I sound like I borderline suspect Pinnick, it isn't entirely about him as an individual. The NFF has probably been organizationally corrupt since "forever". I daresay my comments on this thread would have been the same if Chris Giwa had been NFF boss these last five years. And it is not just the NFF, but Nigerian football generally. I suspect forensic audits into the accounts of state-owned and privately-owned football clubs in Nigeria would turn up decades of continuous financial malfeasance. Not necessarily by everyone involved in the club's management .... but enough to be called systemic.

Anyway, I have no power over Nigerian football .... or our law enforcement agencies and courts. They will do what they will do and it doesn't matter what I think. Mine is to watch them like TV.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

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Well, thanks for quoting me .... as I was considering the somewhat unusual step of quoting myself. :lol: The dropped charges relate to just one of the three different prosecutions Pinnick and company are facing .... so the backroom politicking will continue. Normally, I am not surprised by the weird things that happen in Nigeria, but I was not expecting the Eaglets' manager would be forced to select the unqualified son of one of Buhari's key protectors as part of whatever deals are being negotiated. Boys are not smiling .... if I understand the slang reference correctly.
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Re: Pinnick Investigated for Corruption-- House sealed off!

Post by Oguleftie »

The Eagle wrote:Well, thanks for quoting me .... as I was considering the somewhat unusual step of quoting myself. :lol: The dropped charges relate to just one of the three different prosecutions Pinnick and company are facing .... so the backroom politicking will continue. Normally, I am not surprised by the weird things that happen in Nigeria, but I was not expecting the Eaglets' manager would be forced to select the unqualified son of one of Buhari's key protectors as part of whatever deals are being negotiated. Boys are not smiling .... if I understand the slang reference correctly.
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