Nigerian match-fixing probe widens

The Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) has announced that it has widened its investigation into allegations of match-fixing in the Nigerian top flight.

The probe initially focused on former Plateau United goalkeeper Adewale Adeyinka after he refused to sign a contract clause prohibiting betting and match-fixing.

Plateau United suspended Adeyinka and lodged a complaint against the player, which resulted in him being summoned to court. The goalkeeper appeared at the National Professional Football League office in Abuja with his legal representative and was granted a waiver of his ban from registering with any club this season pending the outcome of the investigation.

On August 27, the National League issued a statement saying that in a written statement to the player, the National Professional Soccer League stated that information obtained during the investigation and other independent evidence led to the expansion of the investigation to a full-scale investigation that would involve everyone named in the WhatsApp messages held by the league.