FORMER Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi has dragged the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to court for wrongful dismissal and defamation in response to his sacking earlier this month.  

On July 5, Keshi was sacked by the NFF just a few weeks into a new two-year contract after investigations into his proposed application for a rival job with Ivory Coast.  Keshi and the NFF were involved in a rancorous dispute after it was rumoured that the coach had applied for the job of Ivory Coast manager. 

Although Keshi repeatedly denied the allegation, the NFF set up a committee to investigate the matter and it appears to have found the coach guilty. Following his sacking, the NFF has now employed former Eagles skipper Sunday Oliseh as the new head coach and unhappy about the development, Keshi has hired a Kaduna-based law firm to notify the NFF about legal proceedings he is taking against them.

 One source said: “Keshi’s lawyers have written the NFF threatening to sue for wrongful dismissal and defamation of character but the truth of the matter is that he does not have a leg to stand on as far as this matter is concerned. It’s all laughable and he’s just chasing shadows.”

 Earlier on, it was claimed that Keshi was planning to drag the NFF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but he has since refuted such stories. Keshi has claimed that he was not aware that his agent had applied for the Ivorian job on his behalf.