Divine Oduduru, the Nigerian sprinter, has been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and faces the risk of a six-year ban. Oduduru has been linked to the banned athlete Blessing Okagbare, who is serving an 11-year ban.
The AIU has accused Oduduru of violating two Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) related to the possession and use of prohibited substances.
The allegations against the sprinter stem from a criminal complaint against Eric Lira, who is accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The complaint, which was filed by the United States Department of Justice, identified Oduduru as ‘Athlete 2’ in the complaint. Since the Tokyo Olympics, Oduduru has been absent from the race tracks and was not part of Team Nigeria at various international competitions.
He was not part of Team Nigeria at the Mauritius 2022 African Athletics Championships, as well as the World Championships and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Though he initially hinted he will be in action at the last National Sports Festival held in Asaba, Delta State, he ended up not competing, blaming injury for his absence. his absence.