Athletics Integrity Unit Provisionally Suspends Divine Oduduru

Athletics Integrity Unit Provisionally Suspends Divine Oduduru

Sampson Adedeji

The news coming from Athletics Integrity Unit indicated that Nigeria sprint star Divine Oduduru has been provisionally suspended, reports BSNSports.com.ng.

The AIU on Thursday afternoon confirmed the suspension of the Nigeria track sensation through a release.

"The sprinter has been notified of potential ADRVs for possession (Rule 2.6 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules; ADR) and/or use or attempted use of multiple Prohibited Substances (Rule 2.2 ADR). 

He has been provisionally suspended immediately.

These alleged violations stem from an AIU investigation based on information in a criminal charge brought against US-based “naturopathic” therapist Eric Lira, on 12 January, 2022, by the United States Department of Justice under the Rodchenkov Act.

Lira is alleged to have supplied performance-enhancing drugs to athletes before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (delayed until summer 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic). 

The complaint against Lira provides specific information regarding persons identified as ‘Athlete 1’ and ‘Athlete 2’. 

In February 2022, a sole arbitrator of the AIU Disciplinary Tribunal concluded that they were “comfortably satisfied” that ‘Athlete 1’ was Oduduru’s team-mate, Blessing Okagbare, and banned her from the sport for ten years, which was increased to an 11-year ban in June 2022 following further charges brought by the AIU.

Based on the information information in the complaint, including text conversations imaged from Okagbare’s mobile phone by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and further evidence obtained from the AIU investigation, the AIU alleges that Oduduru is ‘Athlete 2’ identified in the complaint.

As the process is ongoing, the AIU will make no further comment on the matter at this time", the release said.