The Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo, said he can’t go to jail following the commencement of contempt proceedings in court against Tuesday’s conduct of Nigeria Football Federation board elections in Warri.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Danagogo’s comment comes on the heels of a reported court order, which was said to have restrained the NFF and its agents from going ahead with the election.
He told NAN in Abuja that he was not served the “Form 48 contempt proceedings” to warrant him going to jail.
He said, “I can’t speak for other persons whether they are heading for jail or not, but certainly I am not heading for jail.
“In law, documentary evidence excludes oral evidence, that’s what lawyers will tell you.
“If you come and tell me now that there is a court order against me, I can say it’s a gossip or rumour.
“I should not be told about a court order, I should be served. You must read in between the lines to properly interpret and know what directives you have been given.”
The minister, who justified his earlier intervention in the NFF leadership crisis, noted that the mandatory directive by the court led to an interim leadership in July.
Danagogo added, “The last time I intervened, a mandatory directive was given by the court for the most senior civil servant in NFF to take over, so you must understand why I have to intervene then.
“I looked at the issues and said ‘please let’s obey the court order while we seek further clarification from the office of the Attorney-General and possibly see how we can set it aside’.
“At a certain point, one party said there was a court order that he should take over; the other man said no, you could not take over because FIFA did not recognise Nigerian court order.
“But at the end of the day, lawyers will interpret the order and we will get to a position where we will decide on what should be and what shouldn’t be.”