John Fahsanu detained in Abuja for two days over his involvement in Abuja land scam

FORMER Super Eagles ambassador and English Premier League star John Fashanu was locked up for two days in an Abuja prison over his alleged involvement in a land-related scam that involved the exchange of millions of naira.

 

Fashanu, 54, once played for Wimbledon and Aston Villa in the English Premiership and after his retirement, he went on to become a television personality. Arraigned in a British court over his involvement in match fixing towards the end of his career, Fashanu was acquitted and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) went ahead to appoint him as one of its ambassadors.

 

Ostracised by the English footballing establishment, Fashanu has since turned his attention to Nigeria, where he has been a supplier to the NFF. Earlier this week, however, he was back in trouble after being arrested because he was involved in a scam to sell land that was apparently not for sale.

 

Police turned up at his home in Abuja and apprehended him on suspicion of criminal conspiracy. Apparently, Fahsanu pocketed £23,000 after acting for a friend who was looking to buy land.

 

Following his arrest and interrogation, Mr Fashanu has reportedly agreed to pay back the money but has denied any wrongdoing. Upon his arrest, he entered into a deal with the police under which he was forced to surrender his British passport and then agreed to pay the money back in instalments.

 

One of Fashanu's friends said: “This is a business deal between friends that has gone sour and the police were asked to basically mediate. It will all be sorted very quickly as it was just a business deal.”

 

Hyacinth Dagala, a Nigerian Police Force spokesman, added: “John Fashanu was arrested on July 17 in connection with an allegation of criminal conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N9,550,000 under false pretence. He was granted administrative bail on July 18 but because of his inability to produce the requisite surety on that day, so he remained in detention until July 19 when he was released.”

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