When Will Favour Ofili Get Justice For Paris 2024 Olympics Trauma?

Favour Ofili stormed to a 10.99 finish at the weekend in her first 100m race of 2025 to remind Nigerians of what might have been had she competed in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 22-year-old qualified to compete in the event after satisfying all conditions put forward by both World Athletics and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.

She met the 11.07 qualifying standard set by World Athletics and participated and won the 100m race at the Nigerian Championships in Benin City, which served as selection trials for the Olympics.

As an athlete in World Athletics’ International Testing Pool, a repeat of the inefficiency that denied her the chance to make her Olympics debut in 2020 (2021) was not even contemplated
Still, the Nigeria 200m record holder (indoors and out) was shamelessly not registered for the event by wicked AFN officials.

Ofili, by no means was prepared for the 100m race in Paris judging by the two wind-aided performances she had pre-Games.
She first ran 10.85 with a 2.6ms tail wind at the end of March.

Barely a month later, she ran even faster, stopping the clock at 10.78 with a marginal 2.2ms tail wind. At the Olympics, her 10.09 4x100m second leg split confirmed she would have caused at least a stir in the 100m flat.

She had a few months earlier ran a 10.10 second leg split to inspire the Nigerian women’s 4x100m team to secure the ticket to compete at the Olympics during the World Relays in the Bahamas.

With the wicked act by AFN officials completed, an investigative panel indicted two AFN officials viz the Secretary General at the time, Rita Mosindi and Customs man Samuel Onikeku, Head of the Federation’s technical subcommittee.

The report indicted Mosindi thus: ‘Conclusive evidence revealed, however, that the Secretary General of the AFN, Mrs. Rita Mosindi, was NEGLIGENT in her duty of communicating to the
Ministry of Sports Development and the Nigeria Olympic Committee information about Favour Ofili’s event status in a reliable and timely manner. Mrs. Mosindi should be PENALIZED by the appropriate authority.’

Onikeku was also indicted for his poor error of judgment after claiming in his testimony that he was aware Ofili was not registered for the event.

The investigative committee wrote thus: ‘Conclusive evidence also revealed that the Technical Director of AFN, Mr. Samuel Onikeku demonstrated POOR JUDGEMENT by not reporting nor acting
on information about the non-registration of his own athlete, Favour Ofili, for the women’s 100 meters event when he first got a “hint” of the “rumour.”

‘Ofili’s situation might have been rescued if the Technical Director had reported or acted immediately on the information that he received. Mr. Onikeku should be sanctioned by the Board of AFN of which he is a member.’

The Committee also recommended that Ofili should be paid $5000 in compensation for the emotional trauma she suffered during the Games.

‘The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) by vicarious implication should pay the athlete, Favour Ofili, a symbolic compensation of N8million Naira only (about $5,000 US Dollars) for the disappointment and depression that she suffered on account of her omission from the women’s 100 meters event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,’ the investigative committee wrote.

Neither the National Sports Commission nor the AFN has taken any action.

Tonobok Ojuru Okowa, the outgoing president of the AFN, has refused to take responsibility for the wicked act perpetrated under his watch as the leader of the Federation.

Shehu Dikko, the helmsman at the NSC, has not acted beyond giving the go-ahead to the Investigative Committee’s report to be made public days after he succeeded John Enoh, the man who initiated the investigation, as Head of Sports in Nigeria.

Bewildered Nigerians are wondering why members of the outgoing board, especially Okowa who refused to take responsibility like a true leader would have and Onikeku, who was directly indicted by the Committee should be thinking of staging a return to the AFN.

How and when will Ofili get justice? Nigerians are looking up to Dikko for the answer.
Culled From Complete Sports