Martins’ family drags NFF, LMC, Nasarawa to court

The family of late footballer Chineme Martins has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian Football Federation, League Management Company and Nasarawa United at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, The PUNCH reports.

The family is seeking compensation for their son, who died on March 8, 2020 while playing for Nasarawa United during a Nigeria Professional Football League game against Katsina United at the Lafia Township stadium.

The 23-year-old died after collapsing on the pitch.

Also included in the suit, which will be heard on March 15, is Christian Mbah, the match commissioner for the game. Mbah has since been suspended for his failure to ensure the requirements, including medical personnel and equipment, were in place before allowing the match to go ahead.

Martins’ family is seeking compensation of N120m from the club, according to the court documents made available to The PUNCH.

So far, the Martins family received a total of N4m, which covered the cost of the late player’s burial.

Martins’ was buried in Abia State on June 6, 2020, three months after his demise.

The family of the late Martins also sought the support of global players’ union Fifpro as they pursue the claim 11 months after his death.

“So far, Nasarawa United FC has failed to provide the family with appropriate insurance papers and his employment contract,” Fifpro said in a statement.

“As well as failing to make available the official documents, neither Nasarawa United nor NFF have offered support to Martins’ family.”

In response, Nasarawa United chairman Isaac Danladi said Martins’ contract did not include any insurance.

“The family asked questions about insurance and we don’t have any record. Even the NFF committee discovered there was no insurance for our players,” he said.