Doping: Nigerian Sprinter, Oduduru slammed six year ban

The Athletics Integrity Unit has slammed Nigerian Sprinter, Divine Oduduru a six year ban over violations of doping rules.

This was contained in a statement by the body on Thursday, noting that there was “overwhelming evidence” against the Oduduru

The body noted that the former world junior silver medal list was in possession of prohibited substances and attempted use of a prohibited substance or method.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of this matter, given its particularly grievous nature, exposing the sinister collusion between athletes and other persons in deliberate plans to corrupt athletics at the highest level,” said Brett Clothier, head of the AIU.

Earlier provisionally suspended on 9 February, Oduduru’s case was linked to that of his teammate, Blessing Okagbare, who was banned for 11 years for doping in 2022.

It was noted that the evidence against Oduduru, including Whatsapp messages between Okagbare and Lira that revealed Okagbare soliciting prohibited substances on Oduduru’s behalf.

“The AIU is fully committed to unearthing cheats and the extent of their networks. In our quest to protect the integrity of athletics, we often work closely with other investigative organisations,” said Clothier.

“We are grateful for the assistance from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and United States Department of Justice whose legal reach provided vital evidence which helped in this matter as well as in our case against Blessing Okagbare last year.”

“There was photographic evidence of multiple prohibited substances discovered in Oduduru’s Florida apartment.”

Among other evidence found were two boxes of Somatropin,”Xerendip” and “Humatrope,” which were identified as human growth hormone; a plastic bag labelled “IGF LR3” – an abbreviation for synthetic Insulin Growth Factor – containing three vials, and two boxes of erythropoietin (EPO)

The 27-year-old Oduduru’s however maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.

Oduduru, who has a 100m best time of 9.86 seconds was disqualified in the 100m heats in Tokyo but reached the 200m semi-finals. He won 200m silver at the 2014 World Junior Athletics Championships

Okagbare’s case emerged after US prosecutors charged therapist Eric Lira with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.

She was later expelled from the Tokyo Olympics just before the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone in an out-of-competition test in Slovakia before the delayed 2020 Games.

Her phone was seized by US Customs and Border Protection when she returned to the United States and a Federal Bureau of Investigation complaint further established a “highly incriminating text and voice messages” with Lira.

While Lira is facing 10 years in prison after after pleading guilty to the charges, Okagbare has been handed a 10-year ban by the AIU for the use of multiple prohibited substances and for not co-operating with the investigation.