Players and officials of El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club of Borno have been ambushed and attacked by armed robbers, but the police said they were unaware of the incident.
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) side suffered the attack while on their way back to their Maiduguri base from Lagos in the early hours of Saturday.
Security reports indicate the incident happened along the Jos-Bauchi Expressway.
Before the attack, the team had played Ikorodu City, a Lagos-based club side, in a Matchday 14 NPFL encounter where they lost 0-2 to their hosts on Wednesday.
The attackers made away with valuables, including phones and cash, leaving some players and officials of the Borno team injured.
Some of the injured players and officials were subsequently taken to a nearby hospital in Bauchi for treatment.
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The incident may likely result in a postponement of the Matchday 15 NPFL tie initially scheduled to be held between the Warriors and Bayelsa United on Sunday in Maiduguri.
When FIJ contacted Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, the spokesperson for Bauchi State Police Command, for comments on Saturday evening, he asked whether the incident had officially been reported to the police.
“Has the matter been officially reported to the police?” said Wakil.
“I am asking this question because I am just getting to hear of this for the first time today.
“As a matter of fact, the area you just mentioned has three different divisions covering it. If the matter has not been officially reported, there is no way we would know from our end here.”
When FIJ told the PPRO that the players were said to have been taken to a hospital in Bauchi for treatment, he said he would make his findings and revert.
He called back with no news of the incident.
“I have just asked two divisions if they happened to have heard of any robbery incident along that particular area, but they told me they did not,” Wakil said after calling back as promised.
“I will, however, further ask other divisions and fill you in as soon as I hear anything.”
Wakil was later able to confirm to FIJ that the team had indeed on Saturday reported the incident at GRA Police Station, Bauchi. He, however, added that the location where the robbery occurred was quite far from where the matter was eventually reported.
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