The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has found the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Nasarawa United, and the League Management Company (LMC) guilty of the death of Nasarawa United defender Chineme Martins, during a Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) match.
According to the court, they were in charge of the league at the time of the gross negligence that contributed to the young player’s death about four years ago.
Martins, who was 23 years old at the time, collapsed on the pitch on 8 March 2020, during a league match at the Lafia Township Stadium, and was later pronounced dead.
The incident sent shockwaves through Nigerian football, drawing attention to serious gaps in player safety and emergency medical response.
The court, in its judgment, described the events of that day as “reprehensible” and pointed to a shocking failure to meet basic medical requirements.
According to findings by the NFF’s Adhoc Committee on Safety and Security, Nasarawa United fielded Martins without conducting mandatory medical screening, including an echocardiogram—a standard heart test that should be done at the start of every season.
More alarming, according to the committee, was the fact that there was no functional ambulance at the stadium, and the club had no qualified medical doctor or physiotherapist present at the time of the incidence.
Among the committee’s key findings were that Nasarawa United FC, late Chineme Martins’ club, had neither a medical doctor nor a physiotherapist, with a retired community health assistant heading its medical team, which led to the mismanagement of the resuscitation process.
There was also no functional ambulance at the stadium as at the time of the incident, which led to a faulty evacuation process, and the player died before he could reach the hospital.
“Nasarawa FA and Nasarawa United FC failed in their duties to put in place emergency medical services for the match,” court ruled.