Former Super Eagles defender, Efe Sodje, alongside his brothers Stephen and Bright, were given prison sentences for fraud last year, the reporting ban on the story had just been lifted.
According to Sky Sports, the three brothers were found to have syphoned more than £60,000 (over N28m) given to the Sodje Sports Foundation, a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation found.
They were jailed in September 2017.
With reporting restriction now lifted. Former Nigeria international, Efe Sodje & his brothers jailed. 👇🏾Three Sodje brothers jailed for taking charity money – BBC News https://t.co/uTZy2TciUX
— Mimi Fawaz (@MimosaFawaz) January 21, 2019
Efe Sodje, who was part of Nigeria’s squad to the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, bagged 18 months sentence; Bright Sodje 21 months, and Stephen Sodje for 30 months – at the Central Criminal Court in relation to the fraud.
A judge at the same court on Monday lifted reporting restrictions preventing publication of the result of that trial, following the completion of a number of linked legal proceedings.
Efe Sodje played in the Football League between 1995 and 2015 and appeared for Nigeria in the 2000 African Cup of Nations and the 2002 World Cup, while Bright Sodje played professional rugby league and union in the 1980s and 1990s.
Efe, Bright and Stephen Sodje set up SSF in 2009 with the stated aim of helping poor children in the Niger Delta.
The report on Sky Sports indicates that the three brothers used their connections within professional football and business communities to secure support for their foundation and to give it an appearance of legitimacy.
