Sports

10-year doping ban: Blessing Okagbare reacts, may appeal AIU decision

Published

4 years ago

February 19, 2022

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Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare may appeal the decision of the Athletics Integrity Unit to hand her a 10-year ban for doping violations.

She gave the hint while reacting to the ban on Saturday.

She wrote, “My attention has been drawn to the statement issued by the AIU regarding its disciplinary panel decision. My lawyers are currently studying it for our next line of action which we will inform you soon.🙏🙏❤”

Okagbare, Nigeria’s 2008 Olympics long jump silver medalist was banned for 10 years for doping.

The 33-year-old, who is also a sprinter, was expelled from the Tokyo Olympics last year before the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone at an out-of-competition test in Slovakia on July 19.

“The Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for a total of 10 years,” read an AIU statement.

A copy of the judgement obtained by The PUNCH read in part, “For the reasons set out, The Tribunal:
“Finds the ADRVs contrary to Rules 2.1 and 2.2 ADR proved;

“Imposes a period of Ineligibility of five years concurrently on each of the Rule 2.1 and Rule 2.2 ADRVs;

“Finds that the Athlete failed to comply with the Demand and cooperate with the AIU investigation in breach of Rules 5.7.3 and 5.7.7 ADRV and imposes a consecutive period of Ineligibility of five years; and

“Therefore, imposes a total period of Ineligibility of ten years which commences on 31 July 2021.

“The Tribunal also orders that the Athlete’s results from and including 20 June 2021 are disqualified with all resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points, and prize and appearance money.

“There is no order for costs.”

Okagbare was facing three charges after testing positive for human growth hormone and EPO, offences that forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Thursday.

AIU had revealed that Okagbare tested positive for blood-booster EPO in Nigeria in June, in addition to another failed test for human growth hormone in Slovakia in July, which was announced during the Olympics.

Okagbare was also charged with failing to cooperate with the investigation after she disobeyed an order to produce “documents, records and electronic storage devices” in relation to the other charges.

Okagbare, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, won her first-round heat of the women’s 100 metres in Tokyo before being forced to withdraw when her test results were announced.

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

3 days ago

March 17, 2026

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

Sports

FG fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

Published

4 days ago

March 17, 2026

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.

Sports

BREAKING: Ex-Eagles captainHenry Nwosu dies aged 62

Published

7 days ago

March 14, 2026

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Henry Nwosu, a former Nigerian international footballer and member of the 1980 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning team, has passed away.

He was 62.

His death was confirmed by fellow ex-international Segun Odegbami in a Facebook post on Saturday.

According to Odegbami, Nwosu passed away at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja after a five-day battle for his life.

He also revealed the details of Nwosu’s final days, stating that the man he fondly called “Youngest Millionaire” died at 4:00 a.m. after being in intensive care since Wednesday.

“After 5 days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at 4:00 am this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos where he had been in Intensive Care since Wednesday,” he wrote.

“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in Heaven.”