Sports
Military and Paramilitary Wrestling championship to commence on Oct.19 in Abuja – LOC chairman
The chairman Local Organizing Committee (NOC),Brigadier General Olawole Fawole, said the maiden edition of the Comptroller General of Custom Military and Paramilitary wrestling championship would commence on Oct. 19.
The chairman disclosed this on Friday in Abuja in a press briefing with the Comptroller General of Customs, the president of Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) and representative Nigeria Defense staff and Paramilitary agencies
According to Fawole, the assignment started with an invitation to all the security and paramilitary agencies at the inaugural meeting that took place four months ago.
Gen. Fawole said the purpose of the championship is to discover talents that have passion and inspiration of the sport.
“Talents that will be nurtured to win medals for the country in an international competitions,”he said.
He said the mission of the championship is aligned with the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, who said we must go back to the drawing board.
“I thank the chief of defense Staff General Christopher Musa for his support , I also thanks all the service chiefs and the heads of all thae agencies.
“I equally that the sponsor of the championship, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi,”he said
He said: ” We have agreed on the location of the championship which is Abuja we’ve gone for the on inspection for the various facilities.
“The technical team from Nigeria wrestling federation will be supporting us with the necessary equipments to have a successful event,”he said
The president of NWF ,Daniel Igali said in his speech said the purpose of the championship is to strengthen the dynamic synergy between military and civilian spheres through the shared values inherent in sportsmanship.
“We celebrate the birth of a championship that arises from the warmth, dedication, and benevolence of our esteemed CGC Adewale Adeniyi.
“For his philanthropic spirit and commitment to uplifting others command our admiration.
“This Championship is a manifestation of the Federation’s vision to propagate and to enhance the art of wrestling amongst the Armed Forces and Paramilitary Agencies,”he said.
He said: “Our sponsor dedication has reinvigorated our efforts in promoting wrestling across the nation.
” His involvement added a new dimension of value and energy to the Nigeria Wrestling Federation’s initiatives,”he said
The president said :”I sincerely appreciate the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, the Government of Bayelsa State, the Nigeria Olympic Committee.
“I also want to thank CGC, the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff, all Service Chiefs, as well as the dedicated members of the NWF,” he said
The maiden edition of Comptroller General of Customs military and paramilitary wrestling championship is Tagged ‘ABUJA 2024’
The Championship is organized by the Nigeria Wrestling Federation in collaboration with Nigeria chief of Army Staffs and Nigeria Customs Service.
Ibrahim Umar, the assistant to CGC who represented the CGC, Adewale Adeniyi, said Nigeria Customs Service through the CGC is collaborating with NWF to sponsor the championship.
According to him ,the CGC he is a lover of sport like and we also he also participated in sport.
He said the CGC is representing the military and paramilitary agencies in the board of wrestling federation
“Sponsoring this championship is also a way of giving back to the society in form of a kind of cooperate social responsibility.
“The military and paramilitary , sportsmen and women always represented Nigeria at international competitions in the past with good results.
“This championship is an opportunity to discover talents that can be nurtured to represent the nation in future championships.
“The Nigeria Custom promised to be associated with this championship and we wish a very fruitful and successful championship,”he said.
The participating teams are the Nigeria defense Staff, Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Air Force, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Others are: Nigeria Correctional Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS),Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC),
Nigeria Fire Service and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
Report have that, the maiden edition of the championship will commence on Oct.19 and end on Oct. 25 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
NAN
Sports
Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney
Joel Ajayi
The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.
Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.
In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.
The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.
In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.
At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.
According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.
“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.
Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.
He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.
The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.
He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.
“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.
Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.
The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.
According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.
The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.
It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.
The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.
He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.
“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.
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