In a new legal dispute over the federation’s leadership, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa has mandated that hearing notifications be sent to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and its president, Ibrahim Gusau.
Former Super Eagles player Awala Jumbo and attorney Tekena Ediyekio filed the lawsuit, which has the case number FHC/YNG/CS/70/2026. Ayo Emmanuel, the presiding judge, issued the order on Wednesday after turning down the plaintiffs’ ex parte request.
Rumson Baribote, the applicants’ attorney, told the court of a pending application dated March 13, 2026, and requested permission to move it during the brief court session in which none of the parties were present.
Baribote stated, “My Lord, we have an ex parte application dated March 13, 2026, and we seek leave of this honourable court to move same.”
The request was denied by the court, which insisted that the defendants be informed first.
Justice Emmanuel declared, “It is hereby ordered that the defendants be put on notice, having refused to hear the ex parte application.”
The hearing in this case was postponed until March 31, 2026.
The plaintiffs are requesting in the original summons that the court invalidate the election held on September 30, 2022, which resulted in the current NFF leadership, and prohibit the board from managing Nigerian football going forward.
In light of a January 19, 2024, Court of Appeal ruling, they ask the court to decide whether the Gusau-led board can continue to function as the lawful leadership.
The plaintiffs inquired, “With respect to the Court of Appeal’s Order dated January 19, 2024, the 2nd Respondent-led Board can still parade themselves as the legitimately elected Board and continue with the management of the nation’s football.”
Additionally, they asked the court to determine whether it may prevent the defendants from acting on the strength of the contested election in order to execute the appellate verdict under Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution.
The plaintiffs also questioned whether the NFF leadership’s plans to conduct a congress on March 23, 2026, and its extended tenure in office amounted to contempt of court.
A declaration upholding the court’s authority to implement the appellate ruling and an order creating an interim board with equal representation from all federating units are two of the reliefs requested.
Ediyekio stated in a supporting affidavit that the lawsuit was filed with full awareness of the facts and with his co-plaintiff’s approval. He noted that on September 15, 2022, Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an injunction directing parties to uphold the status quo and limiting the conduct of NFF elections.
Inyang Ekwo’s September 15, 2022, ruling from the Abuja court ordered parties to preserve the status quo and limited how the NFF elections were conducted.
He claims that on January 19, 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal notwithstanding the defendants’ first success in obtaining a temporary stay.
“The Court of Appeal’s ruling terminated the temporary stay and reinstated the status quo order’s full authority,” he stated.
“There is no valid legal basis upon which the respondents can claim that the status quo order was ever lawfully displaced,” Ediyekio contended, emphasizing the obvious implication.
He insisted that the election on September 30, 2022, is “null and void ab initio” since it was carried out “in deliberate violation of a subsisting court order.”
Despite the appellate decision, the plaintiffs claimed that the NFF leadership was still acting without legal support.
He said, “They have persisted in presenting themselves as the legitimately elected leadership, interacting with FIFA and CAF, holding congresses, and making appointments without any legal mandate.”
The upcoming congress in Yenagoa, he continued, highlights what he called “continuing contempt of court.”
Ediyekio said that the conflict has increased unpredictability in the nation’s football administration.
He declared, “The ongoing state of governance uncertainty has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to the development of football in Nigeria.”
“The rule of law, good governance, and the supremacy of the Constitution” are all at risk, he continued.
The conflict arises from a previous Abuja lawsuit in which the court prohibited holding NFF elections while the case was being decided. The plaintiffs maintain that the federation proceeded with the election in contravention of that injunction and has persisted in acting against ongoing judicial orders.
