Sports

Zibiri Brown Demands Justice After Alleged Assault by Plateau United Officials and Fans

Published

3 weeks ago

May 8, 2025

By Joel Ajayi

A member of the FCT FA Security Committee, Zibiri Brown, has called for justice following a violent attack allegedly carried out by officials and fans of Plateau United during their President Cup match against Rangers International at the FIFA Goal Project, Area 3 Pitch in Abuja.

Coach Brown, who sustained multiple injuries from the incident on Sunday, recounted the harrowing experience and demanded accountability for those responsible.

He explained: “I came to Area 3 Pitch to watch the match between Rangers International and Plateau United. As a member of the FCT FA Security Committee, the FA Secretary, Haruna Ilerika, asked me to stay behind and escort the referees due to the aggressive behavior of the Plateau United contingent.”

“I was appealing to them to calm down because the game was over. Suddenly, someone slapped me from behind. As I turned, another person punched me in the mouth. It all happened so fast—more than ten of them descended on me. They nearly killed me. One even strangled me.”

Brown revealed that the injuries have affected his ability to eat properly, and during the scuffle, one of the attackers bit him.

When asked if he had reported the matter, Brown confirmed: “The match commissioner included the incident in his official match report. But I need justice. These people must be brought to book. I want to face them one-on-one they must be held accountable for what they did to me.”

The FCT Football Association is yet to issue an official statement, but calls for investigation and disciplinary action are growing as the football community reacts to the troubling incident.

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Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday

Joel Ajayi

After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.

The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.

The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.

From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.

” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.

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