Nigerian footballer arrested at football tournament in India for absconding after coming out on bail in a visa fraud case

The Nagpur police on Sunday arrested a hugely popular Nigerian footballer, who absconded after coming out on bail in a visa fraud case.

O. K Emmanuel was arrested when he arrived to take part in a Seven’s football tournament in Kozhikode.

He plays for Royal Travels FC, a popular sevens-football team based in Kozhikode and has a large fan base.

Police told the media that there was an outstanding arrest warrant against Emmanuel. He was arrested from Nagpur in Maharashtra in 2015 with a fake passport. After coming out on bail, Emmanual did not appear for the trial.

“The Nagpur police were looking for him since he failed to appear for trial after getting bail. There is a forged passport case registered against him in 2015. After hearing that he would be coming here, we came here and will now produce him before the Nagpur court,” said the Nagpur police officials.

Following this, Kamptee court in Maharashtra issued a warrant to arrest Emmanual. On learning that Emmanual was playing for Royal Travels FC, the Nagpur police came to Kozhikode and arrested him.

“After hearing that he would be coming here, we came here and will now produce him before the Nagpur court,” added the Nagpur police officials.

The Nagpur police presented Emmanuel before a local court, which gave the police a transit warrant. Emmanuel, however, claimed that he had the original passport with him and that he had come to Kerala to play football on many occasions.

Kozhikode and Malappuram districts hold a number of tournaments and foreign players, especially from Africa, are a huge hit. Emmanuel is a hugely popular player there.