Two top officials of Lobi Stars of Makurdi, Barnabas Imenger, Team Manager and Solomon Ogbeide, Technical Adviser were, on Thursday, arrested by fierce looking thugs in Port-Harcourt over non payment of two months salary of a player of the club Alele Azu.
The incident happened immediately after Lobi Stars forced Rivers United to a barren draw in their week 20 NPFL match played at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port-Harcourt.
Daily Trust gathered that the thugs were hired by the aggrieved player to help in collecting his two months salary from the vice-chairman of the club, Mike Idoko, who fortunately, was absent at the match venue.
It is said that Azu is among four players whose salaries were owed by the club but while three were paid, for inexplicable reasons, he was excluded.
Consequently, being a Port-Harcourt boy, he and his gang laid ambush at the Yakubu Gowon stadium where he resorted to the use of armed thugs to force Lobi Stars to pay his two months salary.
A player of Lobi Stars, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said the player, presently injured, had to travel to Makurdi where he pleaded with Lobi Stars vice-chairman to pay his money but his pleas were not addressed.
Our source said the player was able to make the journey back to Port-Harcourt when the technical adviser of the club sympathised with him and parted with N50,000 for him to travel back and also sort out some of his immediate problems.
Left with no option, Azu had to employ the services of miscreants to help him out and even as Idoko was not at the match venue, his ‘sins’ were visited on his two key subordinates.
Daily Trust gathered that after the match, the thugs held the entire team hostage at the match venue for several hours.
Unfortunately, the policeman attached to Lobi Stars by the Rivers United FC appeared helpless as all they could do was to plead with the dangerous looking thugs to be merciful.
After so much pleading, the thugs agreed to release the players to go back to their hotel but held firmly first to the Team Manager, Imenger and later the Technical Adviser, Ogbeide.
The two Lobi Stars officials were then taken to the Elekeya Police station for their safety and further negotiations.
Daily Trust learnt that at the police station, the officials were again, held for several hours until they accepted to write an undertaking that the player’s money would be paid as soon as possible.
As at time of this report, the two embattled officials had reunited with the rest of the team and were travelling back to Makurdi.
An official of the club, who was among those held hostage by the thugs, told Daily Trust that it was a horrifying experience because the thugs brandished dangerous weapons while the melee lasted.
He said “I thank God that we came out of that horrifying experience alive. Our lives were in serious danger.
“One of our players, Alele Azu, who is owed two months salary by the management of the club, hired thugs to help him collect his money.
“So after our 0-0 draw with Rivers United, the thugs descended on us. There was even no time for us to celebrate the precious away point.
“They held the whole team hostage and there was nothing the police could do to help. After serious negotiations, they released the players and other officials but had our Team Manager and Technical Adviser taken to the Elekeya Police Station.
“At the station, the hired thugs insisted that our vice-chairman must come before the Police would release Imenger and Ogbeide.
“However, God touched them and they later agreed that the two officials should write an undertaking and leave which was what they did to be released,” he said.
It will be recalled that a similar incident had happened few weeks back in Nnewi where a former player of Delta Force allegedly assaulted the chairman of the club over non payment of his salaries when he served the Delta State owned club.
Such unfortunate incidents are becoming a common occurrence in the Nigerian league as players are now resorting to the use of hired thugs to collect salaries owned them by their former clubs.
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