Next Digital Broadcasting Limited has demanded for seven billion damages from the League Management Company (LMC) for alleged breach of agreement in respect of the commercial rights of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
In a letter dated September 30, 2020, from their lawyers, Rickey Trafa and Co, Next TV alleged several breaches by LMC in an agreement it entered with the NPFL organisers.
Among these breaches, Next TV alleged that LMC announced it had given Redstrike the same commercial rights it had agreed to transfer to Next TV.
“By your wanton breach of the agreement between yourselves (LMC) and our client, you have not only caused a reversal of the gains the country has made in the recent past in relation to the development of our football league and industry, you have also caused our clients enormous damages and almost unquantifiable losses with respect to funds committed to infrastructure, hardware and software, human capital and deposits (mostly non-refundable) paid towards the performance of their obligations in the said agreement, not to talk of expected profit all of which in total amount to the equivalent of N7,000,000,000 (seven billion Naira),” part of the letter from the lawyers reads.
The lawyers said if within seven days vof the receipt of this notice, the damages were not paid, Next TV will head to court to seek redress.
The players union headed by Harrison Jalla has previously published a series on this saga.
The union has since taken the case to the Serious Fraud Office in the UK as well as the FBI.v