Olympic sprinter Favour Ofili confirms controversial nationality switch from Nigeria to Turkey

 

Olympic sprinter Favour Ofili has officially confirmed her switch of allegiance from Nigeria to Turkey, citing years of frustration with officials from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) over administrative failures that she says cost her two Olympic appearances.

"I'm starting a new chapter representing Turkey," Ofili, who ran for LSU Tigers, said in a statement on her Instagram page on Monday. "I am proud to have represented Nigeria for many years in a highly successful way.

"Having won six gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals in championship meets and experiencing the biggest disappointment from AFN and NOC for their negligence towards me in two Olympics (Tokyo and Paris), I have made this decision."

The switch was confirmed by AFN President Tonobok Okowa, who told ESPN: "They have officially informed us. Both World Athletics and the athlete herself."

However, Okowa claimed that contrary to Ofili's statement, her reasons for switching were purely financial and not due to the incompetence of Nigeria athletics officials.

"Ofili herself knows the whole truth," Okowa said. "This is all about money. Herself and her coach, they are trying to make some money. I don't see anything wrong with that, but as far as I am concerned, if she wants to go, it's okay. She's an adult but she should stop using these reasons as her excuse.

"Okay, the Kenyans and Jamaicans that are going to Turkey, what reasons do they have? Let her go in peace. She's an adult, she has the right to make her decision if she wants to switch allegiance or not."

The 22-year-old, who reached the 200-meter final at the Paris Games, said the move was not motivated by money despite reports Turkey offered her $500,000.

"This change comes from my heart, not from financial motives," she said.

Ofili was one of a number of Nigerian athletes who were excluded from the Tokyo Olympics due to the AFN's errors. Then, four years later, her name was not included in the 100m race, which left her in tears at the Paris Games.

Ofili said she received no compensation or apology from Nigerian officials for the missed opportunities. "They are all still in office. They said I was paid compensation. I got nothing from anyone at all, not even an apology," she said.

Okowa denied that the AFN was responsible for the Tokyo Olympics debacle, telling ESPN that the responsibility lay with the athlete: "As far as I am concerned, the first Olympics, she did not complete her out of competition test.

"And Nigeria cannot be held responsible. At that time, I was not even the president then, we just came in two weeks after. Her preparation was done by the former administration.

"But an athlete is supposed to fill her whereabouts, to enable the testing officers get to him or her. Unfortunately she did not complete her three out of competition tests, and that was why some of them were not allowed to compete. That is not the AFN's problem."

On not being entered for the 100m in Paris, Okowa said it was not the AFN's fault either, as they did what they were supposed to do: "The technical department said they put her name, and truly I was sure that her name was there.

"The list that I saw last that we signed off, her name was there. So I don't know where down the line that the name got missing in transit."

However, he argued that the athlete may not have performed well in the event anyway: "The other two athletes that were registered for the 100m, Tima Godbless and Rosemary Chukwuma, had better qualifying times. Ofili barely managed to qualify during our trials.

"Technically, she may not have been able to handle both of them. In the final race for the 200m, she was already tired, and was shutting down. It is possible that the technical department decided to give her just the 200m because it was decided that she would not be able to do both, but I doubt if that is what it was."

For now, World Athletics' website still lists Ofili as representing Nigeria. The governing body have previously confirmed receipt of four transfer applications from the Turkish federation -- including presumably Ofili's, but there has yet to be any official confirmation of approval from the Nationality Review Panel (NRP).

Under current rules, athletes must wait three years after their last competition for a country before competing for another nation, unless a waiver is granted for "exceptional circumstances" such as administrative negligence, the kind Ofili is citing.

Ofili confirmed that she will sit out this year's world championships in Tokyo while awaiting clearance.

She said: "While that means sitting out this year's championships in Tokyo, I'm truly grateful to have discovered a new home in Turkey."

By Colin Udoh, ESPN

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Nigeria ranked 3rd world country with highest detention of underage children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other participants at the Nigeria Bar Association Conference (AGC) in Enugu have urged NBA to institute a framework that will strengthen the law, improve the situation of children in detention and promote child justice in Nigeria.

This was after the moderator of “the end detention of child season”, Uchenna Emereonye and the lead discussant, Uju Agomoh Executive Director PRAWA, separately gave evidence and statistics of Nigeria children deprived of liberty and the role of NBA in ending arbitrary detention of children in Nigeria.

They said that Nigeria is ranked among top three countries in the world that has the highest number of children in detention and the worst is that those children are detained where they are not supposed to be; in the same cell with adults which is completely against the law.

She said that “the existing laws on the right of Nigeria child should be fully implemented for continued efforts to improve the situation of children in detention and promote child justice in Nigeria.”

“The number of children in detention, awaiting trial in Nigeria is unacceptable. And the question is how can the Bar help to stop this abuse of our children? How can the Bar stand tall in ending child detention in Nigeria?”

Agomoh, a renowned Health Practitioner and Human Right Advocate, presented statistics from a national survey supported by UNICEF, indicating the number of young persons in detention as alarming and unacceptable and that about 70% lacks access to legal representation.

She reminded the NBA of the Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019 that requires Custodial Centres to refuse admittance of offenders not meant for their facilities.

The session, she said, aims at exploring the best ways to ensure compliance with legal provisions and improve the situation of children in detention, hence the need for a better enforcement of provisions and enhance the role of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in advocating for child justice.

She announced that only three Borstal Institutions are functional in the whole country where every state supposed to have one, and asked where are those children that go against the law in the other 29 States are kept.

She emphasised on the role of the NBA in raising awareness and advocating for child justice and also calling for specialised training for lawyers handling child justice cases.

By Regis Anukwuoji, Business Day

Nigerian U.S. visa holders quietly blocked from entry as investigations unfold

A new report has revealed that the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has quietly begun revoking visas without warning, disrupting the lives of Nigerian professionals, entrepreneurs, frequent travelers, and families who suddenly find their mobility stripped away.

The revelation, made by Olufemi Soneye, former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Nigeria’s national oil company, the NNPC Ltd, in an article published in The Cable, points to an unsettling pattern of unexplained cancellations.

According to Soneye, many Nigerians who had long traveled to and from the U.S. without incident are now receiving terse notices of revocation.

“Each had to abruptly cancel engagements, refund tickets, and explain to partners abroad why they could no longer show up. In some cases, the humiliation has been unbearable: travelers discovering at the airport, sometimes even at boarding gates, that their visas had been quietly invalidated."

"A few were briefly detained by immigration authorities before being sent home in shame,” Soneye disclosed, describing the embarrassment some affected visa holders faced at airports as they attempted to leave the country.

The cancellation letters, citing Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 41.122, claim only that “new information became available after the visa was issued.”

But beyond that line, no details are shared. No evidence is presented. No avenue for appeal is offered.

Recipients are told only that they may reapply, a costly and uncertain process that offers little reassurance to those who had already built business plans, family reunions, or educational opportunities around U.S. travel.

An offshoot of Trump’s immigration clampdown?

What makes the development more troubling is its timing.

The Trump administration has recently rolled out a series of visa restrictions targeting countries in Africa, citing security and immigration risks.

Nigeria, one of Africa’s top economy and a longstanding U.S. partner, has increasingly found itself caught in the dragnet. While Washington has not publicly linked the Nigerian cancellations to the broader policy shift, observers say the pattern fits within a tightening of U.S. entry controls for African nationals.

Yet the opacity of the process is raising alarms. Neither the U.S. Embassy in Abuja nor Nigerian authorities have issued a public statement explaining the sudden wave of cancellations.

For those affected, the silence is devastating. Many insist they have never overstayed their visas, violated immigration rules, or raised any security red flags. For them, the revocations feel less like routine enforcement and more like a targeted policy shift operating in the shadows.

“For many, this is not just about stamps on a passport. These visas are lifelines for education, family reunions, medical treatment, and critical business. To have them snatched away without explanation is to leave lives suspended in confusion and despair.” Soneye argued

The implications are wide-reaching. Each revoked visa represents not only an individual setback but also a blow to Nigeria’s international business and professional networks. Entrepreneurs lose access to global markets, students face uncertainty over study plans, and families are left grappling with missed reunions.

Shipping, oil and gas, and tech executives, sectors heavily reliant on U.S. ties, are particularly exposed.

In the absence of transparency, speculation is filling the void. Some see the cancellations as fallout from shifting U.S.–Africa relations under Trump.

Others suggest bureaucratic overreach or unannounced security screening measures.

But until officials in Washington or Abuja break their silence, thousands of Nigerians remain stranded in uncertainty and holding visas that no longer open doors.

By Solomon Ekanem, Business Insider Africa