Legal Firm Writes NNL, Demands Payment Of 11Million Naira Owed Bassey Akpan By Kano Pillars

A law firm Lexsetters LLP has written to the Nigerian National League (NNL) in a request to pay their client Bassey Akpan his outstanding sum of #11,800,000 (Eleven Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira Only).

It was scooped from a letter sent to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the NNL on the 28th of January, 2023, in which the law firm stated that Bassey Akpan’s contract was not honoured since the club terminated his contract in September 2022 after the firm had earlier written to Kano Pillars in November that year in which they (Kano Pillars) claimed to have responded to their demands.

“Kano Pillars stated in their letter dated 4th January 2023 that they responded to our Demand Letter of 31st October 2022 on the 2nd of November 2022. As a preliminary point, we hereby clarify that the said response letter, although dated 2nd November 2022, was only delivered to our firm on 10th January 2023 alongside Kano Pillars’ letter of 4th January 2023 addressed to your good self, via an email in which we and the Nigeria National League (NNL) were in copy. A copy of the email is attached for your ease of reference. As a way of setting the records straight.

“On 14th November 2021, Bassey Akpan (our “Client”) signed a Transfer

Agreement with Kano Pillars FC for 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 football

seasons (the “Contract”). Before the expiration of the Contract, particularly on 22nd September 2022, the Secretary of Kano Pillars called our Client and informed him that the Contract has been terminated. Kano Pillars did not furnish any reasons or grounds on which this drastic decision was taken. Instead, our Client was prohibited from returning to the Kano Pillars training camp.

“We were further informed by our Client upon being notified orally that the

The contract has been terminated by Kano Pillars, and the management of Kano Pillars

went ahead to withhold his salaries and allowances against the extant provisions of the Contract. The said salaries and allowances are still unpaid to our Client to date.

“We further call on the Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria National League to look into this very serious matter, and impose adequate sanctions on Kano Pillars,” a section of the letter reads.

Bassey Akpan (39) who made his senior debut for the Super Eagles in 2010, joined Kano Pillars on a free transfer from home town club Akwa United in 2021 before his contract was terminated by the club in September last year.