The Referee Development Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has handed down a series of indefinite suspensions to referees and assistant referees across all the league in Nigeria that is —NPFL, NNL and NWFL, following what it described as poor and inconsistent application of the Laws of the Game.
The claim has it in a circular dated 13 December 2025 and addressed to affected officials through their respective State Football Associations, the Committee explained that the sanctions were imposed to curb recurring officiating excesses, restore confidence in match officials and protect the integrity of Nigerian football.
It is claimed that an extensive review of match footage and official reports from several league fixtures exposed serious errors according to the Committee, that directly influenced match outcomes and brought refereeing into disrepute.
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However, it has been poised that the heaviest sanctions arose from the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) Matchday 9 fixture between Barau FC and Kano Pillars FC. Featuring Referee Anthony Eze (FCT), alongside his assistants Peter Ogwu (BA) and Aduba Ngbede (FCT), were found guilty of multiple officiating lapses, including the wrongful award of a penalty, failure to award a clear penalty at another stage of the match, and several collaborative decisions that affected the final result.
On this note, it is said that the three officials have been placed on indefinite suspension from all football-related activities.
The Nigerian National League (NNL) has also been found wanting, for Matchday 4 encounter between Rovers FC and Sporting Lagos FC, assistant referee Ekpouko Ubong (AK) was also indefinitely suspended after an incorrect offside call denied Sporting Lagos a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
That notwithstanding, the NPFL referees Committee further sanctioned Ernest Cynthia (OG), assistant referee in the NWFL Matchday 2 match between Remo Stars Ladies and Abia Angels, for wrongly flagging an offside and disallowing a legitimate goal.
Still on the National League Matchday 4 fixture, it is claimed that in a match involving Mighty Jets FC and City FC, saw referee Nurah Abdullahi (ZM) suspended indefinitely for failing to protect the goalkeeper from illegal challenges, which ultimately led to a goal that altered the outcome of the match.
In a clear term, not all match officials were found culpable.
We’ll also like to include the incident involving Referee Michael Adepoju (FCT), who was also sanctioned following the NNL Matchday 5 clash between Kada Warriors FC and Mighty Jets FC, after awarding a penalty based on simulation by an attacking player.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Football Federation Refereeing Development Committee Mohammed Ameenu, reaffirmed that the decisive measures underscore the Federation’s zero-tolerance policy on poor officiating and its commitment to raising refereeing standards across all domestic leagues.
