SPORT: Eight Nigerian Athletes Banned

At least eight Nigerian athletes have been banned for testing positive to banned substances at last year’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.  Minister of youth and sports, Solomon Dalung made the revelation on Thursday, January 14 when he received members of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Abuja.

Sports minster Solomon Dalung

He said the athletes were found to have erred when the World Anti Doping Agency, WADA took and tested their urine samples at the end of the games.

They have been placed on a four-year ban each while the eighth athlete, a weightlifter, Elizabeth Owuah, was banned for eight years.

According to The Punch, the athletes given four year bans include: Deborah Odeyemi, Chinazom Amadi, Samson Idiata (Athletics) Sunday Ezeh (Para-athletics), Thomas Kure (Para-powerlifting) Patience Opuene (Wrestling) and James Igbadiwei.

Dalung said: “It is true that some Nigerian athletes tested position to banned substances at the last All Africa Games.

“About five medals have been indicted because of the development and that takes us to why we are meeting here with the NOC. We still want to intensify our advocacy on anti-doping. The issue of doping is not always as we say it.

“Sometimes it could be from the food the athlete has taken or some drugs they took without knowing the impli- cations before the event. So, what we are planning to do is to improve on our advocacy on anti doping.”

Nigeria finished second overall in the 2015 All Africa Games with 47 gold medals, 55 silver medals and 42 bronze medals.