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Divine Oduduru has officially been banned from competing actively in athletics by the AIU for the attempted use of a prohibited substance.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has slammed Nigerian 200m record holder Divine Oduduru with a six-year ban for attempted use of prohibited substances.
Oduduru was initially provisionally suspended by the AIU in February concerning Blessing Okagbare's doping scandal case, in which he was alleged to be 'Athlete 2'.
Then, the AIU released a statement on their website, saying they had notified Oduduru of "two potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and is seeking a six-year ban against the athlete.
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This time, the world anti-doping governing body has made the ban permanent. A release on their website stated that a Disciplinary Tribunal found the Nigerian athlete guilty.
"12 OCTOBER 2023, MONACO: Divine Oduduru has been banned for six years by a three-member Disciplinary Tribunal for committing two Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) of Possession of Prohibited Substances and the Attempted Use of a Prohibited Substance or Method and ordered to pay World Athletics US$3000 towards its expenses regarding the case.
The ban takes retroactive effect from 9 February 2023 – the date on which the Nigerian sprinter’s provisional suspension began – and runs until 8 February 2029, while all his results from July 12 2021 until the date of his provisional suspension have been disqualified."
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Oduduru was linked to Okagbare, who received an 11-year ban for her use of prohibited substances. It’s worth noting that Oduduru himself didn’t test positive for any banned substances. Instead, his alleged involvement stemmed from a WhatsApp message exchange between Okagbare and her supplier, Eric Lira, where “Divine” and “we” were mentioned during their discussion.
Oduduru maintained his innocence and argued that he was the victim of a conspiracy to implicate him. However, at the core of the AIU’s case were Whatsapp messages between Okagbare and Lira, which revealed Okagbare soliciting Prohibited Substances on Oduduru’s behalf, and photographic evidence of multiple Prohibited Substances discovered in Oduduru’s Florida apartment.
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The Prohibited Substances found in Oduduru’s apartment were two boxes of Somatropin, “Xerendip” and “Humatrope”, which were identified as human growth hormone; a plastic ziplock bag labeled “IGF LR3” – an abbreviation for synthetic or “recombinant” Insulin Growth Factor – containing three vials, and two boxes of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO). According to testimony, one of the boxes of EPO was open and had only one of six vials remaining.
Given these Prohibited Substances found in Oduduru’s apartment, when and where they were found and the fact that he had exclusive control of the apartment, the panel concluded that Oduduru was in constructive possession of those substances.
Oduduru has been off athletics radar since August 3, 2021, when he ran 20.16s to place third in his 200m semifinal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He was supposed to make a comeback at the 2022 National Sports Festival in Asaba but pulled out with complaints of sustaining an injury during his warm-up sessions.
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