A major crackdown on age manipulation in Nigerian athletics is underway following a high-level investigation. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has received strong recommendations to ban 15 athletes for two years after they were found culpable of falsifying their ages.
Investigation Triggered by World Athletics
The probe was initiated after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics sent a formal letter to the AFN on December 2, 2025. The AIU demanded an explanation for why 17 Nigerian athletes had multiple dates of birth in official records. Sixteen of these athletes had competed at the African U18 and U20 Championships held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In response, the AFN established the Investigative Committee on Athletes’ Age Discrepancy. This panel, largely composed of the federation's executive board members, completed its work and submitted its findings to the AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, in the third week of January 2026.
Panel's Findings and Recommended Sanctions
The committee's primary goal was to safeguard the integrity of sports, ensure fair competition, and protect Nigeria's international reputation. It found 15 athletes guilty of various offenses, including:
- Age falsification
- Multiple registrations under different ages
- Participation in competitions with inconsistent age records
The panel has urged the AFN Executive Board to adopt a formal Age-Eligibility and Integrity Sanctions Framework to ensure consistent and transparent handling of such cases in the future.
For the 15 implicated athletes, whose names have been withheld, the panel recommended severe penalties:
- A two-year suspension from all AFN-sanctioned competitions.
- Stripping of all medals, titles, rankings, and prize money earned at youth events.
- Mandatory re-registration with verified documents like international passports, birth certificates, or National Identification Numbers (NIN).
- Exclusion from all future age-grade competitions until they fully comply with the re-registration process.
Aggravated Case and Exonerations
In one particularly serious case, where an athlete deliberately submitted a forged birth certificate, the committee recommended an even harsher punishment of a three-year ban. This underscores the panel's commitment to punishing willful acts of fraud more severely.
Meanwhile, the investigation cleared two of the original 17 athletes of any wrongdoing, finding no substantial evidence against them.
The AFN has emphasized that these recommended actions are not one-off measures. They are part of a broader, institutional strategy to create a strong deterrent against age manipulation and to enforce compliance with international standards in Nigerian athletics.
