Ikorodu City forward Joseph Arumala is now the leading scorer in the Nigeria Premier Football League after netting his 12th goal of the season in his side's 3-0 win against Kano Pillars at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos on Sunday — a result that will sting Pillars fans given it was a Matchday 34 away fixture the team lost heavily.
Arumala opened his account for the afternoon in the 29th minute, converting a pass from Abayomi Ayodeji to beat the Pillars goalkeeper and set Ikorodu City on their way to a comfortable victory.
The goal put him one clear of Rangers International's Godwin Obaje and Abia Warriors' Chukwuemeka Obioma, both of whom sit on 11 goals. Obaje is no stranger to this kind of territory — he finished as the NPFL's top scorer back in 2016 with 18 goals — while Obioma claimed the Golden Boot in the 2022/23 season.
Behind the top three, a cluster of four players are tied on 10 goals each: Victor Mbaoma of Remo Stars, Chidera Michael of Enyimba, Uche Collins of Katsina United, and Daddy Abdulrahman of El Kanemi Warriors — a player Pillars fans will remember from the 3-0 home win over El Kanemi back in February.
For Pillars, the concern right now is not who is winning the scoring chart but stopping goals going in at the wrong end. The team now faces Rivers United at home on Matchday 35 this Sunday, and a response will be expected after conceding three without reply in Lagos.