Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has lifted the indefinite sanctions imposed on three clubs, referees, coaches and players over allegations of participating in an illegal league in the 2016 DSTV Premier Basketball League season.
Speaking after their board meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, NBBF President, Engineer Musa Kida said investigations carried out on the affected parties have shown that due process was not followed in clamping down those sanctions.
Consequently, NBBF have decided to reinstate Lagos Islanders, Dodan Warriors and Union Bank basketball clubs in the league system ahead of the 2018 league season.
“We were able to establish that the decisions taken by the former board were not in the overall interest of basketball in Nigeria. It’s a strange practice all over the world where an accused is not summoned to defend his actions.
“Obviously, their suspension affected the standard of the league. In the Atlantic Conference, you hardly find fans coming to the venues because of the standard of the league which dropped as a result of these decisions,” said Kida.
Kida added that the sanctions which dated back to 2016 were not in accordance with any laid down FIBA rules.
“There is need to start on a clean slate in order to continue our quest to change the face of basketball in Nigeria. As a board, we are determined to operate and lead with the best interest of the game at heart. Any decision we are going to take will always be in the overall interest of all stakeholders. We will definitely operate with a human face,” Kida concluded.
