Precious Josiah
The Nigeria Football Federation has commenced investigation into the tragic death of former Nigeria U20 player, Abubakar Lawal, in Uganda.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, reiterated that the country’s football-ruling body had 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,” Dor Sanusi said.
“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 Nigeria football and for his family, and it is important to get these facts to enable some closure on his tragic passing. We will 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.
Police said Lawal, 29, reportedly fell from a third-floor balcony at the Voicemall Shopping Arcade, where he had gone to visit a Tanzanian friend. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
They said Lawal’s friend, identified as Omary Naima, had left him in her room – which is part of the mall building – preparing tea before the incident happened.
Lawal was a striker playing for local team Vipers Sports Club, which has expressed its sadness for the “untimely passing of our beloved player.”