Ex-England footballer John Fashanu was arrested over a land dispute in Nigeria and is seeking £100,000 in compensation following the ordeal.
Fashanu, 62, is accused of criminal conspiracy, trespass, intimidation, threat to life and obtaining by false pretence in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, where he now resides.
The former Millwall, Wimbledon and Aston Villa centre-forward was released on bail and vehemently denies all charges against him.
It’s understood Fashanu accuses Nigerian police of violating his rights and the wrongful arrest of him, as well as his wife, Vivian, and his lawyer, Chinyere Chigbu, over the civil dispute.
The former Gladiators presenter, who hosted the popular ITV show alongside Ulrika Jonsson in the mid-1990s, plans to sue for a six-figure fee.
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According to The Mirror, ‘a group of investors apparently agreed to pay more than £500,000 for the 22-acre site’. But Fashanu and his lawyer launched an investigation after learning that the investors had sent workmen to build a perimeter fence on the property.
The report claims Fashanu alleged the workmen were being protected by police, with the former Three Lions striker and his lawyer arrested over ‘serious crimes’ after agreeing to sort out the dispute at a local police station.
Fashanu now accuses the officers involved of ‘arrest, detention and inhuman treatment’ for ‘about three hours’ on December 16 and ‘subsequent intermittent constraints of his personal liberty’ up to December 19.
The 1988 FA Cup winner also alleged that he suffered ‘gross unconstitutional violation’ after his mobile phone was confiscated by officers.
Fashanu, who was capped twice by England during his playing days, claims he was unable to pursue a job as head coach of the Nigerian national team due to the trauma he has suffered in the wake of his arrest.
He appeared at a hearing of Abuja’s Federal High Court earlier this month, where the case was adjourned until April 10.
‘The court granted the adjournment to give all the respondents enough time to file their counter affidavit,’ Fashanu’s lawyer Chinyere Chigbu said.
‘It will allow them enough time to properly file their response.’
Chigbu insisted he, John and Vivian Fashanu had met all the requirements of bail following their arrests.
‘All three have perfected their bail conditions,’ he added.
‘They have all met the requirements to be admitted on administrative bail by police.’
Fashanu lodged his case against 12 defendants, including the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police and police service commission.
After retiring from professional football in 1995, Fashanu enjoyed a successful career in television, co-hosting Gladiators before managing his own football team on Bravo’s Fash FC.
Fashanu has also presented the Nigerian version on Deal or No Deal and featured as a contestant on both I’m a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here! and Dancing on Ice.
While Fashanu was born in Huddersfield, he has dual British-Nigerian citizenship due to his father and has lived in Abuja for a number of years.
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