The factional President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Chris Giwa has been released by the Nigerian police two hours after he was arrested at the NFF headquarters in Abuja on Friday evening.
According to a report by goal.com, the proprietor of Giwa FC walked into the Zone 7 premises of the NFF around 4pm despite the presence of a police van that was meant to maintain law and order.
He stormed the Glass House to take over as president after a bailiff served the April 8 judgment of the Federal High Court, Jos, on the general secretary.
However, he was led away to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Wuse Zone 3 by a detachment of policemen after spending 30 minutes in the building where he attempted to commence administrative duties.
Addressing the media shortly after he emerged from the police station around 6:40pm, Giwa denied that he was arrested but that the police took him in after a report of breakdown in law and order at the secretariat reached the police.
He insisted that he had recovered his mandate and promised that he would take over as the legal president of the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday.
The problems in the NFF reappeared on April 8 when a Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, ordered that the administration of Amaju Pinnick vacate the NFF in favour of Giwa who is to take charge temporarily.
However, sports minister Solomon Dalung had pitched his tent with the Pinnick group who claimed to have filed a stay of execution of the judgment.
The minister had then placed the police on alert to block the take over the Glass House by the Giwa faction.
FIFA had in a letter threatened to ban the NFF from all international engagements if the court injunction was carried out.
