The Nigeria Football Federation said it has continued the search for clarity concerning the tragic death of former Nigeria U20 player, Abubakar Lawal, in Uganda on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Lawal, who played for Vipers Sports Club, died on Monday morning in Uganda,
Initial reports said he died in a motorbike accident, and another 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, a Tanzanian lady, Naima Omary, who moved into the hotel a month earlier.
Omary has since been taken into custody by the Ugandan police.
A statement by Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, on Friday quoted the NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, as saying that the country’s football ruling body has kept its feet on the throttle regarding the matter.
Olajire added that Sanusi reiterated that the NFF would not relent until the truth is unveiled on the cause of the player’s death.
He added: “We are not relenting in the search for the truth.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed the determination to dig out the truth, we 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 the truth.”
Olajire said Sanusi had put a call through to his opposite number in the Federation of Uganda Football Association, Edgar Watson Suubi, to call for urgent assistance in getting to the root of the matter.
He said Suubi in his response had expressed regret about the incident, adding that it was a very sad situation.
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He was quoted by Olajire to have said: “I also have received divergent reports on the incident, but I have delegated somebody to go and find out what happened.
“Afterwards, 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.”
Olajire said that the NFF followed up Sanusi’s phone conversation with a formal letter to FUFA in which it disclosed that there had been so much outcry in the country with regards to the mystery of Lawal’s death.
Sanusi said in the letter: “I have decided to reach out 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 a key player for Ugandan elite division club Vipers FC before his demise.
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