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Tonobok Okowa, the president of the Nigerian Athletics Federation, has raised alarm over new allegations linking Nigerian athletes to fraudulent activity in the United States.
Many Nigerian athletes have been accused of indulging in fraudulent activity and are set to face years in prison.
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Mercy Abire, a 28-year-old long jumper from Nigeria who currently resides in the United States, is at risk of serving a lengthy 20-year prison term after admitting guilt to a conspiracy to launder money, or "yahoo yahoo" in local slang.
These recent issues have caused the AFN president to speak out saying that Nigerian athletes are going into fraud.
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Nigerian Athletes involved in fraudulent activities
Abire was charged with wire and mail fraud in the US together with two other Nigerian athletes, Raymond Ekevwo, the current African Games men's 100-metre champion, and Aniekeme Etimwere.
Between November 2018 and April 2019, Abire sent over $100,000 to co-conspirators using her US bank account, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office as reported by The Punch.
Abire and her co-conspirators allegedly employed online charity scams, online romance scams, and other sorts of fraud between 2018 and 2022 to swindle victims of their money, according to court documents and material presented.
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The court revealed as reported by The Punch, “The money received as a result of these scams was then transferred between the conspirators, and ultimately, much of the money was transferred overseas.
“Between November 2018 and April of 2019, Abire herself transferred over $100,000.00 to co-conspirators through her US bank account.”
The maximum jail term for the long jumper is 20 years, and the verdict is anticipated on August 30.
AFN President statement
The AFN President Okowa has spoken about the recent accusation about Nigerian athletes getting involved in fraud during an interview.
Okowa spoke to The PUNCH on the worrying trend, he said, “It’s very unfortunate that this is happening. Children nowadays, a lot of them are all about this ‘yahoo yahoo’ trend, I don’t know what they are doing.
“The truth is, if anybody goes out there as a Nigerian, not as an athlete, and they commit a crime, both in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, they are liable for it, so it is up to them. Let them deal with the authorities in the country wherever they are.”
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Sunday Adeleye, a former technical director for the AFN, shared Okowa's remarks and emphasised the value of education and discipline in halting the trend.
He said, “If someone has a criminal tendency, what can you do as a federation? They pass through us just briefly. We start training some of them while they are kids but some of them join when they are already old, so what do you do?
“We just have to keep talking to them and trying to see how we can make them understand that this is not the right way to go and then maybe training and education is very important.”
Adeleye ask the Nigerian Government to act fast
Adeleye ascribed the trend's prevalence to a larger socio-economic issue in Nigeria and urged the government to act quickly to stop this scourge.
He continued, “It’s a ‘yahoo yahoo’ trend, it’s all over Nigeria, it’s not a hidden thing. It’s something that’s happening everywhere right now in Nigeria.
“The government must really step up in terms of seeing how we can curb this menace because it’s already a big menace in society.”
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