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Retired footballer, John Fashanu was on Saturday arrested after police found an unlicensed weapon at his 20-room mansion in Abuja during a raid.
According to reports, about 20 officers stormed the mansion with a search warrant and seized the gun, believed to be capable of firing up to 30 rounds.
It is understood the former Wimbledon and England striker made a statement before being released from custody after nearly six hours and billed to return there by Monday.
But Fashanu, 52 in a chat, was quoted as saying: “I was not arrested – I went to the police station voluntarily.
“I’ll go back tomorrow morning to the police station. I expect to pay a fine.
“It was an old fashioned firearm. I don’t actually know what model it is – it’s like a stub gun.”
Fashanu, who is preparing to fight a bitter divorce case against his estranged wife Abigail in court claimed she called in cops to spite him for ending their marriage.
He said: “She is trying to do anything to get back at me. They raided my house after she filed a petition with the police. She needs to move on.
“The gun should have been licensed. I made a mistake and I hold my hands up to that. “I have the five passports because they belong to young footballers from my academy. It’s no problem.”
Police agreed to release Fashanu after detaining his 2014 edition black land cruiser jeep as surety. It is understood police raided Fashanu’s home after his estranged wife Abigail filed a statement accusing him of having an illegal firearm and a number of young footballers from his academy also filed complaints accusing him of stealing their money.