The 54-year-old was convicted following his involvement in a dishonest multi-million naira land deal.
John Fashanu who committed fraud by acting as fixer in a land scam was left in Abuja jail, according to United Kingdom publication, The Mirror.
Going by the report, the former English international was locked up for two days after he was arrested at his home on the Sun City Estate, Abuja – as officers probed claims that he hatched the plan to sell lands that were not for sale.
Fashanu was said to have received £23,000 from a friend interested in buying land, but it turned out that the piece of land in question was not for auction.
The Mirror claimed he got locked up in a prison cell with 200 prisoners and two days later, he was freed after surrendering his British passport and promising to pay back the money received – although he denied any wrongdoing.
“John Fashanu was arrested on July 17 in connection with an allegation of criminal conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N9,550,000 under false pretence,” said Nigeria’s Deputy Inspector General of Police, Hyacinth Dagala.
“He was granted administrative bail on July 18 but because of his inability to produce the requisite surety on that day, he remained in detention until July 19 when he was released.”
Fashanu is not new to controversies, as a player in 1997, he was cleared in a high-profile match-fixing trial along with goalkeepers Bruce Grobbelaar and Hans Segers.
17 years later, he was arrested over an unlicensed gun found in his Nigerian house during a police raid.
