Former Super Falcons midfielder and assistant coach, Maureen Mmadu, amid tears, narrates her ordeal and that of her players after police officers of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Awka, the Anambra State capital, invaded her academy, in this interview with IKENNA OBIANERI

Men of the Anambra State Anti-Cultism Squad reportedly invaded your academy, arrested and brutalised you and your players. How true is that?

It Is true. The incident happened on October 9 at about 2:15pm shortly after our training. We normally train in the mornings because we have a camp for girls and boys. It was on a Wednesday, on the night of the UEFA Champions League. Some of our boys, after the training, were just relaxing at the viewing centre, waiting for the Champions League matches to begin. It happened that I was also at the girls’ camp relaxing and all of a sudden, we started hearing people shouting all over the place, ‘Where is Maureen, where is Maureen?’ And when I came out, I saw armed men who told me that I was under arrest. But before I knew what was happening, they forcefully invaded the girls hostel and ransacked everywhere, hitting anybody they came across with the butt of their guns. It was a scary moment, like a war front.

Are the men confirmed security operatives and how many were they?

They are policemen and they wore uniforms with the inscription ‘anti-cult.’ The ones I saw were heavily armed with their guns corked-ready. I could not count all of them as they were all over the place rattling and rough handling me and my girls, but neighbours and other residents who live nearby said there were up to 15 of them.

How many vehicles did they come with and what did they say was your offence?

They came in about two branded Toyota Sienna vehicles with the inscription, ‘anti-cult’ and another unbranded vehicle. It was the Sienna that they bundled me into. They never mentioned any known offence that I committed to justify their action. They were just shouting, ‘You are under arrest.’ They never allowed me to talk, saying I must follow them and when I asked, follow them to where? They said when I get there I will know. When I looked around, I saw the father of one of the girls in my academy. It was at that point that he ordered the security operatives to bundle me inside their vehicle. So, they pushed me, I fell to the ground and one of them twisted my arms to the back, handcuffed me while about four of them dragged me on the ground to where their vehicles were parked outside and bundled me inside their vehicle. From the hostel to the road where they parked their vehicle, they inflicted bodily injuries on me as they dragged me along. They first seized my mobile phones and that of my girls.

Where did they take you to?

They took me from Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area where the camp is located, and I thought they were taking me to a nearby police station. But they drove me down to Ukpo Annex Anti-Cult office near Zone 13 in Dunukofia LG. When we got there, they asked me to come out of the vehicle, but I could not come out on my own as my arms were handcuffed to the back. What they did was to carry me out and threw me to the floor in their compound. Even while on the ground, they were just rough-handling me and pushing me here and there.

Who is the man you said brought the security men and what was the mission?

He was the father of one of the girls in my camp. On October 16, the man handed his daughter over to me, to join us in the academy. I asked him her age and he told me she’s 12 years. I told him that the girl was too young to be in the academy, that she should be in school. The man told me that their school was on vacation, that I should just allow the daughter stay in my academy, that he would come and pick her in September. I did not see the man and he did not make any provisions for his daughter, not even toothbrush, nothing. Even when the girl was menstruating, I was the one that catered to that. At a point, I called the man and asked him why he didn’t make any provision for his daughter, he apologised and sent some money in July, which we used in buying the things the girl needed, including clothes at the camp. I was the one that practically took care of the girl at the academy. The last time I saw the father was the day he brought his daughter to me, the other day I saw him again was when he came with security operatives to my academy to arrest me.

Was there any time there was a rancour or disagreement between the two of you?

It was one day that he called me after I had called him several times concerning the upkeep of his daughter, that he said he would be sending a driver to the academy to pick his daughter. On the day the driver came, I told the girl to pack her load and follow the driver, but she refused, insisting that she doesn’t know the driver. I called him back to inform him what the daughter said. But he accused me of instigating his daughter not to go with the driver. This conversation took place on October 7, and October 9 he brought security operatives to my academy to arrest me.

What exactly did he say was your offence?

He wrote a petition against me and submitted at SARS office. It was when they took me to their office while in handcuffs that they showed me the petition and in the petition, he wrote that I am a kidnapper, a murderer, a cultist, a child trafficker and all manner of allegations and so on. The petition was dated October 7. I told the IPO (Investigating Police Officer) that all these were false accusations, but to make matters worse for me, the IPO never allowed me to explain myself nor hear my own side of the story.

Were you locked up?

The man who petitioned me insisted I must be locked up but I persisted that I didn’t commit any offence to warrant being locked up. It was in a room where they normally took statements from suspects that they locked me till the following day. It was a horrible and traumatic experience for me.

As a serial winner of WAFCON, having represented Nigeria at the Olympics and World Cup, how do you feel about this brutality after serving your country so diligently?

I feel ashamed, I feel so sad, I feel so traumatised. I never thought that one day this kind of a thing would happen to me. I have never experienced such and I will not take this lightly because I know I served this country with everything in me and someone like me cannot belittle herself to do what they accused me of. I am a role model in the society and the face of the young ones.

As an international figure, since this incident happened, has any of your former colleagues and football officials reached out to you?

Yes. Most of them have been calling me asking to confirm the report they saw on social media and I told them it is what happened. They were not happy, they were very angry and expressed their disgust that such a thing would happen despite all the efforts I’ve made to groom the young girls to become future stars. Even my former national teammates described the situation as an embarrassment and big shame to the country.

This incident happened since October. Why did it take you so long to make it public and what steps have you taken to seek redress?

The security operatives asked me not to engage the media and threatened me all over the place, but now I realise I shouldn’t keep quiet because I know that the good I am doing for the young girls will not kill me. First and foremost, I have petitioned them at Zone 13 in Ukpo and they have called us and said what they did was wrong. And they have been calling us and we have been going to Zone 13. But they have yet to take action to show these people that what they did to us was wrong and they have yet to take action in the area of giving us justice. The man is not showing any remorse.

What is the extent of damage at your academy?

They destroyed many electronic gadgets, including television sets, at the academy. They attacked my players, both the girls and boys and inflicted them with bodily injuries. They also smashed about eight mobile phones belonging to my players. The security operatives chained the boys and forcefully collected their mobile phones and smashed them on the ground. When we went there, they calculated the price of the mobile phones they destroyed. I had already warned my players to give them the price they bought the phones and not current rate. And when they calculated it, it amounted to about N800k, but the man said he would only pay N200k. We said no, instead take the phones and go and repair them. Then the girls you injured, go and take care of their medical expenses. They injured a lot of my girls, three of them were severely brutalised and are receiving medical treatment at the hospital. They said we should go and come back again. Now, they are calling the man, but he is not picking his calls. I told them I wanted to report the matter to the media, but they told me to calm down, that they were going to sort it out, but up till now, after more than a month, nothing has happened.

In what areas are you seeking for justice?

They have to pay for damages in the area of defaming my character. They should pay for the mobile sets they damaged and the electronic gadgets. And also withdraw all the allegations against me with a letter of apology.

How many girls and boys do you have in your academy?

We have about 25 girls and 30 boys.

Was there any documentation that was done when the man brought his daughter to your academy?

Yes. Everything was documented. Before anyone is admitted at the academy, you must undergo the registration process before you are taken.

What inspired you to start the academy?

I started it in 2020 during the time of COVID-19. The academy is called Maureen Mmadu Football Kiddies Camp. I was born and brought up in Onitsha, so, I see a lot of girls and I wanted to promote the girl-child to nurture and help them realise their dreams. I started with girls. And you know our people in the South-East, they have the impression that girls should not play football, but football made me what I am today. So, I wanted to use myself as an example and a role model. And because I was born and brought up here, I decided to come back home to give back to the society, to see if we could groom people that would take over from us and also to take them out of the streets. When I did the summer camp, over a hundred applied, I picked the talents that I needed and we formed an academy to help the talented ones pursue their careers.

What are the challenges you are facing?

I tried to run it the way it is run in Europe, but financial constraints have been a hindrance. It is financially intensive. I have tried reaching out to some corporate bodies, but they are not forthcoming and it doesn’t discourage me.

How has this incident affected you and will it discourage you from doing what you are doing?

It did not in any way discourage me. It can only spur me on. For the fact that this happened does not mean I should be discouraged because I know I am doing something for the future of the kids.

Can you recall some of your best and worst moments as a footballer?

My regrettable moment I would say was not winning the Women’s World Cup. And my memorable moment was the 1999 World Cup, the first time we played in the quarter-finals, which qualified us for the Athens 2000 Olympics. I also won WAFCON on several occasions.

What was your worst match?

It was when Norway beat the Super Falcons 8-0. My best match was our match against Thailand at Athens 2000 Olympics.

Do you have any message for the authorities on what you passed through in the hands of the security operatives?

I am only calling on the federal and state governments, including stakeholders and sports-loving people, to fight for me so that we get justice because nobody knows who it might be tomorrow. It is not about being a star, it is about doing the right thing, everybody deserves his or her respect irrespective of their status. They broke my arms and inflicted injuries on me. No one deserves that kind of treatment in his or her country. Nobody should be intimidated. What happened to me, if I continue to speak on it, I will keep shedding tears. (The PUNCH)