AIU released the statement on its official website on Thursday, October 12, 2023. According to the body, Divine Oduduru got a four-year ban for the possession of prohibited substances and the attempted use of a prohibited substance and an additional two years for aggravating circumstances. He was also ordered to pay $3000 to the World Athletics for its expenses regarding the case.

The AIU added that they had evidence of WhatsApp messages between already-banned Blessing Okagbare and Lira, where it was revealed that Okagbare was soliciting prohibited substances on Oduduru’s behalf.

The head of the AIU, Brett Clothier, said in the statement,

"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. The Athlete has committed ADRVs under Rules 2.6 and 2.2 ADR. The violations shall be considered together as one single first violation. A period of Ineligibility of six (6) years is imposed by the Panel upon the Athlete commencing on the date of the Decision. The period of Provisional Suspension imposed on the Athlete from 9 February 2023 until the date of the decision shall be credited against the total period of Ineligibility. The Athlete’s results from 12 July 2021 until the date that the Provisional Suspension was imposed, on 9 February 2023, shall be disqualified with all resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money."

However, Oduduru maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. The ban takes retroactive effect from February 9, 2023, until February 8 2029.

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The body confirmed in a statement that was released on its official website that it has sent an appeal to CAS and that the tribunal decided to clear Tobi Amusan of the charges levelled against her. AIU had earlier in the year, before the World Athletics Championship, decided to suspend Amusan for failing to comply with the whereabouts testing, but the Nigerian had maintained her innocence throughout the situation.

"The AIU filed an appeal last Friday (15 September 2023) with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision, dated 17 August 2023, that Tobi Amusan did not commit an anti-doping rule violation for Whereabouts Failures. The AIU will make no further comment on the matter until the conclusion of the appeal."

However, the independent Disciplinary Tribunal found her not guilty and recommended that she be reinstated on August 17, 2023.

The world record holder had since then participated in the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Budapest, where she lost her title, and the Eugene Diamond League, where she won her third successive Diamond League title.

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The body released a statement on its official website on Thursday, August 17, 2023, where it confirmed that Tobi Amusan has been cleared of the allegation that was leveled against her. According to the body, they are not impressed with the outcome but they will review the judgement before going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period. AIU Head Brett Clothier has indicated the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is disappointed by this decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline. The decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course. Amusan’s provisional suspension has now been lifted with immediate effect".

The 26-year-old was previously charged of three whereabouts failures, which constitutes an anti-doping rule violation for missing three out-of-competition tests within a 12-month period.

This clearance provides Amusan with the opportunity to defend the title at the African Championships, African Games, Commonwealth Games, and Diamond League.

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The AIU officially announced the suspension on their Twitter account, revealing that Tobi Amusan has been charged with three whereabouts failures. A provisional suspension is mandatory under the World Athletics anti-doping rules following an adverse analytical finding for any non-specified substance on the prohibited list.

Tobi Amusan confirmed the news on her official Instagram page on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, according to her, the claims of the AIU are false and she intends to go to court to contend the claims. The AIU law states that an athlete who misses tests within 12 months is guilty of anti-doping rule violation, and the penalty includes suspension for two years, which may be reduced to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of fault.

Pending a final decision by the Disciplinary Tribunal, this provisional suspension prohibits Amusan from participating in any athletics competitions or activities, by the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules and the Integrity Code of Conduct.

The 25-year-old had recently claimed consecutive victories in the Diamond League and set a meeting record in Silesia. Her impressive achievements include being a World Record Holder, African Record Holder, and the 2022 World Champion.

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Tobi Amusan confirmed the news on her official Instagram page on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, according to her, the claims of the AIU are false and she intends to go to court to contend the claims.

The AIU law states that an athlete who misses tests within a period of 12 months is guilty of anti-doping rule violation, and the penalty includes suspension for two years, which may be reduced to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of fault.

The 26-year-old confirmed that she is a clean athlete and will challenge the allegations.

"Today, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me with an alleged rule violation for having three missed tests in 12 months. I intend to fight this charge and will have my case decided by a tribunal of 3 arbitrators before the start of next month’s World Championships. I am a clean athlete, and I am regularly; (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU – I was tested within days of my third ‘missed test. I have faith that this will be resolved in my favour and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August.”

Amusan has been in fantastic form heading into the 2023 World Champions which started since the competition last year and Tokyo 2022 Olympic Games.

She ran a season-best 12.34 seconds to set a new meet record at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland on Sunday, July 16, 2023. Two days later, She clocked 12.25 seconds to win the women’s 100m hurdles at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Oluwatobiloba Amusan, OON OLY (@ihurdle_33.0inches)

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INTER MILAN'S CEO SPEAKS ON ROMELU LUKAKU'S TRANSFER TO THE SERIE A

This decision by the AIU also means that Nigeria has lost its potential qualification place for the women's 4×100 meters relay at next month's World Athletics Championships Oregon22. According to reports, this was because six days after Okagbare evaded sample collection on June 13th, 2022, she competed in the 4×100m relay events at the Olympic trials.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said that Okagbare has been found to have committed additional anti-doping rule violations specifically evading sample collection&tampering or attempted tampering with the doping control process. Her current 10-year ban has been extended by one year.

The dreams of others Athletes have now been dashed because of Blessing Okagbare's actions. Our 4x100m relay won't compete at the World Championship in Oregon next month ( July).

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The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged Nigerian athlete Blessing Okagbare with three offences for taking banned substances. She was suspended during the Tokyo Olympics Games after testing positive for a human growth hormone following an out-of-competition test on July 19, 2021.

Blessing Okagbare

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The Integrity Unit confirmed the news by releasing a statement on its official Twitter account. According to the report, Okagbare tested positive for a banned substance named recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) which handles the increase in the red blood cell count.

Athletics Integrity Unit

The AIU has also been charged for not cooperating as she failed to comply with the formal requirement to provide relevant documents, records, and electronic storage devices needed for the investigation.

The Nigerian might have to lose all her medals, which include her silver medal at the 2008 Olympics if she is found guilty.

The post Blessing Okagbare Faces Three Count Charge for Banned Substance appeared first on NotjustOk.

Team Nigeria Tokyo 2020

They banned the athletes from the Games because of non-compliance with the Out of Competition Testing ( OCT). According to the rule, an athlete from Category A country must at least undergo three no-notice out-of-competition tests which include urine and blood test to be conducted not less than three weeks apart in the 10 months leading to a major event.

This decision is a colossal blow for Nigeria as the chances of winning medals at the Games are now more difficult. Out of the 23 Athletes registered for Athletics, only 13 are now eligible to compete in Tokyo.

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As of the time of reporting this news, only 11 Nigerians are on the entry list for the Athletics at Tokyo 2020, which starts on Friday, July 30, 2021. They currently list only 2 each for Mixed 4x400m for Friday, July 30, 2021, and Women's 4x100m for Thursday, August 5th, 2021. Nigeria will have to draft two more athletes into each team to avoid failing to start both races.

The Integrity Unit is an independent body that was set up in 2017 to manage all the threats to the integrity of the sports of Athletics.

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