The Nigeria Football Federation has continued the search for clarity concerning the tragic death of former Nigeria U20 player, Abubakar Lawal, in Uganda on Monday.

NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, reiterated on Friday that the country’s football-ruling body has kept its feet on the throttle regarding the matter, and will not relent until the truth is unveiled on the cause of the player’s death.

Lawal died on Monday morning, with initial reports saying he died in a motorbike accident, and later in a car crash.

Hours later, the Ugandan Police stated that he actually died after falling from the third floor of a hotel at the Voicemail Shopping Mall in Bwebajja. He was said to have been at the mall to visit a friend, Tanzanian lady Naima Omary, who moved into the hotel a month earlier.

Omary has since been taken into custody by the Ugandan Police.

“We are not relenting in the search for truth. The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed the determination to dig out the truth, and ourselves have reached out to our counterparts in the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) to help us find out the truth.

“The circumstances surrounding the player’s passing remain steeped in mystery, but we are committed to doing the little we can to shed light on it and help the Federal Government in its quest for truth.”

Hours after the unfortunate incident on Monday, Sanusi put a call through to his opposite number in FUFA, Edgar Watson Suubi, to call for urgent assistance in getting to the root of the matter.

Suubi responded that “it is a sad situation. I also have received divergent reports on the incident, but I have delegated somebody to go and find out what happened, and then we’ll be able to send you a copy of the report from either the Police, the Medical or any authority that’s in the position to give us a satisfactory answer.”

The NFF followed up Sanusi’s phone conversation with a formal letter, in which it disclosed that “there has been so much outcry in our country with regards to the mystery of his death, and I have decided to reach to you, as a colleague, to help shed light on how the player actually met his end.

“It is a very sad situation for us in Nigerian football and for his family, and it is important to get these facts to enable some closure on his tragic passing. We would also like to know what arrangements are being made to get his remains back to his family in Nigeria.”

Lawal was a member of the Nigeria squad at the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in New Zealand 10 years ago and was a key player for Ugandan elite division club Vipers FC before his demise.   

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The match day 26 duel of Rivers United and Katsina United could not be concluded on Thursday as the match was disrupted by rainfall at half-time.

The home side was leading 1-0 through a 17th minute goal by Ubong Friday. The match will be concluded at 9 am on Friday.

Before the disruption, Rivers United had climbed up from the fifth position to the second position on the live scores table, sharing 42 points with Shooting Stars but having an advantage in goal difference.

In another match, Bendel Insurance beat Ikorodu City 2-1 in Benin on Thursday night. Stanley Okoroma put the home side ahead in the 52nd minute after which Shola Adelani drew level two minutes later for Ikorodu City.

Uche Collins got the winner for Bendel in the 69th minute. With 35 points, Bendel Insurance are now 11th on the log while Ikorodu City are seventh with their 38 points.

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BY JOHNKENNEDY UZOMA, OWERRI

The advancement of Heartland on the log of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) may have been cut by the goalless draw the Owerri side recorded with El Kanemi on Wednesday, the club’s turn-around manager, Emmanuel Amuneke has remarked that the result was nothing to worry about.

Since picking up the role of technical manager at the beginning of the season, Amuneke has been able to navigate the club upstream from the backwaters.

The club got relegated last season but got a wild card back into the NPFL, taking the position of Beyond Limits Football Academy of Ikenne, which could not be in the elite division on account of sharing ownership with Remo Stars.

Starting the new season on the wrong foot, Heartland eventually got their rhythm. On the goalless outing at home with El Kanemi, Amuneke admitted that it was a disappointment.  but  

“My expectations and target were to play and win our games, and stabilize the club.”

Winning the league title may be out of the equation, but the coach intends to get the club back among the powerhouses of Nigerian football.

Heartland’s next fixture is an away duel with Ikorodu City in Lagos this weekend.

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