LAGOS: Nigeria`s anti-graft agency has quizzed and impounded the passports of the country`s former football administrators who are facing fraud charges, a spokesman said Saturday.

"We seized the passports of the former NFF (Nigerian Football Federation) officials on Thursday after they were quizzed for several hours," Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesman Femi Babafemi told AFP.

He said the passports were seized on the orders of the commission’s boss, Farida Waziri, who is personally leading the investigation.

The probe into ex-football federation chief Sani Lulu, two other fired executives and the current secretary general Bolaji Ojo-Oba, is the latest fallout from the World Cup, which also saw President Goodluck Jonathan temporarily ban the team.

The officials were sacked over the shoddy performance of the national team, the Super Eagles at the tournament in South Africa, finishing at the bottom of their group in the first round.

Babafemi said the former football executives arrived at the EFCC offices in Abuja around 9:00 am on Thursday and were not released until 8:00 pm.

He said the agency had on Monday raided the NFF offices where they took away several files from the accounts department after a five-hour search.

He said because of the seizure of the passport, Ojo-Oba was unable to join the country’s team for the ongoing FIFA Under-20 Women`s World Cup in Germany.

BDST: 1643hrs, July 17, 2010