Premier League club Nasarawa United have threatened to abandon their Lafia City Stadium home ground for another venue to safeguard the lives of the players and their officials.
The warning came after some of the supporters of the 2016 Federation Cup finalists allegedly held the coach of the team, Kabiru Dogo, hostage and threatened to beat up some of the players after their goalless draw with visiting Plateau United on February 5.
The officials of the team and the players have allegedly been living in fear as the hoodlums continue to threaten them.
It was learnt that the supporters were not happy with Dogo for allegedly preferring players from other states to the ones from Nasarawa State for matches.
Our correspondent, who covered the match between Nasarawa and Plateau at the Lafia City Stadium, observed that shortly after the end of the encounter, irate supporters of the home side stormed into the dressing room of the state-owned club to attack the coach and his players.
A defender Seun Sogbeso, was allegedly beaten up by the hoodlums for trying to prevent them from attacking his coach.
However, soldiers, policemen and officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps came to the rescue of the team.
The Chairman of the club, Isaac Danladi, who expressed disappointment at the behaviour of the supporters, said any repeat of the incident would force the team to play their home fixtures outside Lafia to protect the team from being attacked.
Danladi said the management of the club had met with the leaders of supporters’ club and that they had promised that the team would no longer be attacked.
“The issue has already been taken care of,” the football administrator told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday.
“In fact, the boys that were involved in the incident were promptly arrested, but after they pleaded with the management of the club they were released.
“I believe that with the agreement reached so far with the supporters’ club, nothing like that will happen again.”
He added, “Actually at every match there is always security for both the home and away teams before and after the match. It is just that if the team is not really doing well the fans will become aggressive.”
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