A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced a football fan to three months in prison for assaulting a Plateau United player, Temitope Vincent, on April 13.
The unruly fan took the law into his hands despite Nasarawa’s 3-2 victory against Plateau in the NPFL match. The attack occurred despite recent NPFL approval allowing fans back into Lafia Township Stadium under strict security conditions.
The event happened following a match between the two North Central rivals. Plateau United’s Temitope Vincent became a target after his performance in the game, despite missing a penalty in the last minutes.
Bashir Bala was first accused of stabbing the player with a knife, but a comprehensive investigation later determined that no stabbing occurred.
Bala was charged with assault, use of criminal force, and disturbing the public peace following the brutal attack on Temitope.
The incident, which resulted in a neck injury, caused public indignation and raised concerns about security at NPFL games venues.
As a result of the incident, Nasarawa United have been fined ₦6 million and banned to Gombe for their home games, per Channels. The Solid Miners are presently 14th in the NPFL table, barely one point above the relegation zone.
He said, “The second one was when Plateau United won a penalty in the dying moments of the game; for about 2-3 minutes, the same player was fighting his teammates over who should take the spot kick. Having scored the first, he wanted the second, but Detan Ogundare denied the attacker from 12 yards.
“After the game, sports writers were conducting a post-match interview when I saw Vincent Temitope exchanging words with a guy just before the entrance of the gate.
“The next thing, they were exchanging punches, and the plastic table used by the match commissioner was broken, and both used it to attack themselves.
“From the exchange of punches, Vincent bled before I went in to call the attention of the Nasarawa United Chairman, who rushed to the scene with the FA Chairman and Plateau United General Manager on the ground.
“Led by the FA Secretary, the player was taken to the clinic where the wound was dressed and the person who inflicted the injury was arrested by the stadium security as directed by the FA Chairman and handed to the Police Force.’’
