More than four years after the tragic death of Nasarawa United defender Chineme Martins during a Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) match, justice has finally been served.
In a landmark ruling, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria found the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Nasarawa United, and the League Management Company (LMC) who were in charge of the league at the time guilty of gross negligence that contributed to the young player’s death.
Martins, just 23 years old at the time, collapsed on the pitch on 8 March 2020, during a league match at the Lafia Township Stadium and was later pronounced dead.
The incident sent shockwaves through Nigerian football, drawing attention to serious gaps in player safety and emergency medical response.
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Tragic failure of duty
The court’s judgment described the events of that day as “reprehensible” and pointed to a shocking failure to meet basic medical requirements.
According to findings by the NFF’s Adhoc Committee on Safety and Security, Nasarawa United fielded Martins without conducting mandatory medical screening, including an echocardiogram—a standard heart test that should be done at the start of every season.
Even more alarming, there was no functional ambulance at the stadium, and the club had no qualified medical doctor or physiotherapist present during the game. Instead, the medical team was headed by a retired community health assistant.
Committee’s report revealed:
“Among the committee’s key findings were: Nasarawa United FC, late Chineme Martins’ club, had neither a medical doctor nor a physiotherapist, with a retired community health assistant heading its medical team, and this led to the mismanagement of the resuscitation process; there was no functional ambulance at the stadium as at the time of the incident, which led to a faulty evacuation process, and the player died before he could reach the hospital and; Nasarawa FA and Nasarawa United FC failed in their duties to put in place emergency medical services for the match.”
All Guilty: Club, League, and Federation
Responsibility, the court ruled, extended beyond the club. The LMC, the NFF, and the match commissioner were all found to have breached their duty of care. They failed to enforce existing regulations designed to ensure that clubs provide adequate medical coverage during matches.
“The league, the NFF, and the match commissioner of the day had a duty of care to ensure that the club complied with the relevant regulation, and they breached it,” the court stated.
According to international players’ union FIFPRO, which supported the Martins family in the legal battle, the ruling sets a powerful precedent for player safety and accountability in Nigerian football.
“The court’s ruling stated it was ‘reprehensible’ that Martins was allowed to play without complete medical tests,” FIFPRO said in a statement. “An echocardiogram was never conducted on Martins at the start of each of his three seasons with the club – and without the provision of adequate medical facilities at the Lafia Township Stadium.”
Not the first – A pattern of neglect
Martins’ death is not an isolated incident. In December 2018, Dominic Dukudod, a player for Sokoto United, collapsed and died during a friendly match between Abuja United and Nasarawa United—once again at the Lafia Township Stadium.
According to witnesses reports:
“He slumped and died during warm-up before a friendly match between Abuja United and Nasarawa United at the Lafia Township Stadium, Nasarawa State.”
Another account added:
“Midway through the game between top-tier Nasarawa and the lower division side, FC Abuja’s Dominic Dukudod slumps on the field.
“Efforts to revive him are both limited, with first aid applied, and in vain, with Dukudod, who suffered what is believed to be a heart-related issue, dying as he is rushed to hospital.
Despite there being a defibrillator in the stadium, eye-witnesses do not recall the device, which can restart a heart in case of sudden cardiac arrest, being used to treat the player.”
That incident, occurring just 15 months before Martins’ death underscores a troubling trend of medical unpreparedness in Nigerian football.
Family’s long walk to justice
For the Martins family, the ruling brings a long-awaited sense of justice.
Nasarawa United has now been ordered to compensate the family for their loss and suffering.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Martins’ brother, Michael, said:
“The court has spoken and ruled that Nasarawa United, the league management company and the NFF did not take into consideration my brother’s safety, health and welfare which contributed to his death.”
He added: “I hope that the appropriate medical provisions are put in place for Nigeria’s footballers going forward, so that no family has to endure the pain we have suffered.”
Silence from authorities
In an effort to get official reactions, PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Nasarawa United.
The club’s media officer, Eche Moses, stated that the club would issue an official response at a later time, as he was still consulting with management.
On the part of the NFF, attempts to contact the Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, were unsuccessful.
His mobile phone was not reachable, and a text message sent to his line had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.
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Wake-up call for Nigerian football
This case serves as a stark reminder of the real life consequences of administrative negligence in sport.
It also puts pressure on the NFF and clubs across the NPFL to review and upgrade medical protocols, ensuring no player is ever again put at such risk.
As the football community reflects on the life and untimely death of Chineme Martins, the court’s ruling may be the turning point Nigeria’s domestic football needs; a call to place player safety above all else which had always fallen on deaf ears.
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