Presidency denies prosecution of Pinnick

The Presidency has described as `fake news’ a press release in
circulation, to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered
the arrest and prosecution of Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF).

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick

A report went viral in
social media in the last 24 hours indicating that there were palpable
fears in the country’s football family following alleged President
Buhari’s directive for the prosecution of Amaju Pinnick, over a litany
of corruption allegations levelled against him.

“The allegations which also involved funds embezzlement are in billions of naira,’’ the report quoted.

But, a presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, dismissed the report as untrue and false.

He said: “This is fake news because anyone familiar with the
President’s unmitigated and unshakable commitment to the due processes
of the law will not make such assumptions of the President.

“The position of the President that allegations of criminal nature
should be addressed only by investigation and law enforcement agencies,
within the framework of the law has not changed.

“It is not in the nature of President Buhari to say go and arrest that man or woman as formed the practice in the past.

“Rather, he allows all allegations of this nature to be addressed
using the mechanism of the rule of law even as law enforcement and
investigation agencies should not in any way be hampered in performing
their duties.

“At the same time, nobody should drop names to seek to influence the course of those investigations.’’