Former England footballer John Fashanu was thrown into a Nigerian jail with 200 other prisoners after being arrested over an alleged land sale scam.
The Wimbledon FC player was detained at his residence in capital Abuja on July 17 after being accused of selling land that wasn’t on the market, the Mirror reported.
Police arrested the 54-year-old on suspicion of ‘criminal conspiracy’ and he was then taken to the ‘hell-hole’ jail where he stayed for two days before being released on bail.
Police Deputy Inspector General Hyacinth Dagala said: ‘John Fashanu was arrested on July 17 in connection with an allegation of criminal conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N9,550,000 (£23,000) under false pretence.
‘He was granted administrative bail on July 18 but because of his inability to produce the requisite surety on that day, he remained in detention until July 19 when he was released.’
But an anonymous friend of Fashanu played down the arrest when he spoke to the Mirror and claimed it was a misunderstanding between friends.
He added: ‘This is a business deal between friends that has gone south and the police were asked to basically mediate.
‘It will all be sorted very quickly. It was a just a business deal.’
Fashanu is said to have agreed to repay the £23,000 before he left jail and was also ordered to hand in his British passport.
Fashanu, who also presented TV shows, denied he committed a crime.
Metro.co.uk has contacted him for a comment.
