dead Nigerian, Auwalu Ibrahim Barau is among the list of referees approved by FIFA for 2012 assignments. The late Barau was listed provisionally on medical grounds. advertisement Your ADS Here! The leadership of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) believed that Barau would recover from his ailment and go on to pass his medical and fitness tests, but he could not make it. Barau passed on early this December and when FIFA released the names of referees for 2012 assignment, his name was there. Thirty two other referees made the list with a new entrant, Mimisen Iyorhe, a female assistant referee who replaced Elizabeth Nkiru Igwenagu that clocked 45, which is the mandatory age of retirement from FIFA’s refereeing job. Six referees who made the list include Solomon Wokoma, Bunmi Ogunkolade, Ago Abubakar, Amao Opeyemi, Henry Ogunyamodi and Benjamin Odey. Minus Barau, six assistant referees were listed, among them was Peter Edibe, who has been invited by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to be part of the Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Others are Sanni Zubairu, Robert Aundugh, Rev. Father Chukwudi Onumajuru, Lieutenant Tunde Abidoye and Baba Abel. Three women referees on the list include Felicia Okwugba, Foluso Ajayi and Uloma Nwogu. Four women assistants, who also made the list are Grace Agudosi, Bosede Momoh, Stella Eloji and Mimisen Iyorhe. For Futsal, FIFA listed S. T. Ayeni, Ibrahim Umar, Sanni Paul Umago and Agbo Mark. Veteran of many world cups, Jelili Ogunmuyiwa, leads the Beach Soccer referees that include Ahmed Sanni, Mike Ushie and Jimeta Suleiman. FIFA referees’ boss, Linus Mba, informed that Barau could not be replaced, even as he received the news of Edibe’s invitation by CAF to the Nations Cup with joy. “I have called him (Edibe) to congratulate him and to tell him about the need for him to be in shape for the tests that would be conducted before the tournament in July,” he said.