Former Nigerian international Garba Lawal has expressed shock following reports that Nigerian midfielder Daniel Daga has been found guilty of sexual assault in Norway and sentenced to six months in prison.
Naija News reports that Daniel Daga, who plays for Norwegian club Molde FK, was accused of sexually assaulting an unnamed woman in April. The 19-year-old was formally charged on December 19, 2025.
According to a report by TV 2 Norway, the court delivered its verdict on Tuesday afternoon, March 10. Daga was handed a six-month prison sentence and ordered to pay 10,000 Norwegian kroner in legal costs.
Reacting to the ruling, Lawal described the development as deeply unfortunate and warned young Nigerian footballers to be cautious while playing abroad.
“I read this morning that Daniel Daga was sentenced to six months in prison or something like that. If they put you for one day or for some hours, they dent your integrity,” the former Super Eagles player said as quoted by Complete Sports.
“Now, if you come out now, for example, which club in Europe wants to sign him? The same thing back home here in Nigeria; they will see you as someone who doesn’t have anything on their mind. It’s so unfortunate. I saw this this morning; I weep for the young coming generation of players. I just weep for them.
“You went to their country where they have the law in their hand. Anything that the girl says, they will believe her because you are in a foreigner’s posture.
“Me, I have never been attracted to those white women because I know if you are not careful enough, you end up in problems. As a young player, you need to be very careful. Women, if it’s because of women, why do you travel to Europe? You stay in Nigeria; we have beautiful women here now.
“Daga should have that experience because he’s with the Under-20. What do you want again? You’ve already had exposure to travelling. You were in Argentina with the Under-20 team, the Bosso team. I was there; I followed them. What makes you lose your conscience and confidence and go and do something different?
“Maybe the club can fight for him, maybe they can reduce the ban, but already the integrity is spoiled. You cannot take it back.”
Daga had previously featured for Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and was part of the squad that competed at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
