Players, officials stunned as police disrupt Enyimba training

File photo: Players and officials Enyimba training

The power tussle at nine-time Nigeria Premier Football League champions Enyimba deepened on Monday when the club’s sporting director, Daniel Eke, alongside some men of the Nigerian Police Force, disrupted the team’s training session following their home defeat to Inter Lagos on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.

Inter Lagos secured their first Nigeria Premier Football League win on Sunday after edging Enyimba 1-0 at the Enyimba Stadium, further deepening the crisis surrounding the Aba club.

Ezekiel Moses scored the only goal in the 18th minute, rising to meet a pinpoint cross with a header to give the visitors all three points.

The result was Enyimba’s third defeat in as many games, leaving the nine-time champions without a point at the start of the 2026/27 season amid continuing problems on and off the pitch.

In the wake of the defeat, the club returned to training on Monday, but the session was reportedly cut short after Eke allegedly stormed the venue with officers of the Abia State Police Command’s Rapid Response Squad, who took some club officials away.

Videos and pictures from the incident showed players and officials in a confused state, while club chairman Nwankwo Kanu was also filmed leading the players to the RRS office.

“The chairman was about to address the players when the police officers arrived and they arrested some officials. We don’t know why they arrested them, but the chairman led the players to their office,” an Enyimba Stadium official told The PUNCH.

“I believe everyone went home from there because there was no training again on Monday.

“We have a match on Wednesday and we are not training. If they are not careful, this team will go down.”

An Enyimba fan/media blog, The Enyimba Fan, reported that Eke’s action was a reprisal after he was attacked by some stadium officials on Sunday.

“Enyimba’s Sporting Director, Daniel Eke, arrives at Enyimba training with RRS officials, disrupts training, and whisks away the Stadium Manager and some of his staff. Apparently, Mr. Daniel was celebrating yesterday after Enyimba dropped points, and these folks fought with him outside the gate. So he’s got officers to arrest him and have them in detention,” the blog post read on X.

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The crisis at the club dates back to last season when Eke was appointed sporting director by officials of the Abia State Government, despite Kanu naming former Nigeria international Uche Okechukwu to the same position.

The tussle also spread to the technical bench when Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu and Commissioner for Sports Nwaobilor Ananaba unveiled Cameroonian coach Emmanuel Deutsch to lead the club, despite Kanu’s appointment of Deji Ayeni.

Ayeni and Okechukwu subsequently stepped aside for Deutsch and Eke, but the power struggle has resurfaced this season.

A source close to the club told our correspondent that the latest tussle was part of efforts to remove Kanu, who was appointed chairman of Enyimba by Abia State Governor Alex Otti in 2023.

“This is like a war between someone who is almost untouchable and grassroots politicians; Kanu was appointed by the governor. In fact, the governor wanted Kanu to be the commissioner, but he opted for the role of chairman of Enyimba,” the source said.

“Since this commissioner came, business is not usual. They used to pester him to share monies and all of that, but he is nonchalant and doesn’t yield to their calls or anyone’s call. He sees himself as too big to get involved in such things, and these are grassroots politicians he is dealing with.

“They have thugs on the streets. That was how they walked out the coach the last time when they stormed the stadium. But they can’t do the same to Kanu, and they have been trying to get him out since the governor wasn’t around.

“It is going to get worse because Kanu is not interested in fighting back. He believes his name is enough and, with elections coming close, they are using the grassroots to pressure the governor to withdraw his support for Kanu. That is the game they are playing. If they cannot remove Kanu now, they won’t be able to do it again.”

Since Kanu’s appointment, Enyimba’s run in the league has been in decline. They finished third in his first season in charge, followed by a sixth-place finish in the 2024/25 season. Last term, they ended up in 11th position.

Enyimba will host Sporting Lagos on Wednesday, with the nine-time champions seeking their first points of the 2026/27 season and a way out of the bottom of the table.