Chaos erupted on Saturday during a Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) match between Katsina United and Barau Football Club after a Barau player, Nana Abraham, was attacked by home fans, sustaining a deep cut to his neck. The disturbing incident occurred moments after Barau’s Orji Kalu scored a 69th-minute equaliser, levelling the game 1-1, which appeared to provoke a violent reaction from some Katsina United supporters.
Barau FC confirmed the attack on its official X handle, posting: “70’ The match is temporarily halted following an attack on Barau FC player, Nana Abraham. Katsina United | 1-1 | Barau FC.” An image obtained from the scene reportedly showed Mr Abraham bleeding from a visible neck wound as match officials and teammates struggled to control the resulting chaos.
The match, held in Katsina, was briefly halted as security personnel battled to restore order on the pitch. There was no immediate response or comment from the NPFL management or Katsina United at the time the incident was reported.
This event comes just a month after a similar episode of crowd violence at Kano’s Sani Abacha Stadium. In that case, Shooting Stars (3SC) of Ibadan scored a dramatic 94th-minute equaliser against Kano Pillars, triggering a violent pitch invasion by furious home supporters who assaulted referees, match officials, and players, forcing security operatives to fire teargas to restore order.
