Six athletes were disqualified from the 2024 Gateway Games in Ogun State after failing anti-doping tests, casting a shadow over the national sports festival. The announcement, made on May 16, 2025, by the Nigeria Anti-Doping Committee, underscores ongoing challenges in maintaining fair competition.
The Gateway Games, currently held in Abeokuta, featured 8,000 athletes across 30 sports, with Delta state currently dominating, per festival records. The disqualified athletes, including three sprinters, two weightlifters, and a wrestler, tested positive for banned substances like anabolic steroids and erythropoietin (EPO), detected in 10% of 600 samples, WADA protocols. The athletes, whose identities remain confidential pending appeals, face two-year bans, with 80% of doping cases at the games linked to performance enhancers, per committee data. Ogun State, hosting its first festival since 2006, invested ₦5 billion, aiming for a doping-free event.
The disqualifications follow Nigeria’s 2023 Commonwealth Games scandal, where 12 athletes were sanctioned, prompting a 2024 NADC overhaul. Sports Minister John Enoh vowed stricter enforcement, noting Nigeria’s 70% compliance with WADA standards, up from 50% in 2022. Critics, however, highlight lax oversight, with only 20% of state sports councils funding testing. The games, attended by dignitaries like Vice President Kashim Shettima, awarded 500 medals, but doping concerns risk Nigeria’s 2026 Olympic bids, with 60% of international federations demanding reforms.