Nigerian sprinter, Favour Ofili will not compete at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games Trials currently underway in Lagos, her coach Dennis Shaver has confirmed, further deepening the controversy surrounding one of the country’s most talented athletes.

Shaver made his position unambiguous in a post on X, stating that neither Ofili nor anyone acting on her behalf entered her name for the competition, demanding that any listing bearing her name be removed with immediate effect. His statement came after reports emerged that Ofili had been entered in the women’s 200 metres preliminary event, a claim that a check on Roster Athletics, a real-time athletics event management platform, appeared to confirm.

The AFN, for its part, declined to publish an official entry list, and an official reached for comment on the matter simply asked reporters to be patient.

The three-day national trials, held at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex, began on Sunday and run through Monday, June 22, with athletes competing for selection to Team Nigeria for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. The AFN had previously made clear that participation in the trials is compulsory for any athlete seeking to make the team.

Ofili’s absence from the competition is the latest chapter in a deeply unsettled relationship between the 23-year-old sprinter and Nigerian athletics authorities. The controversy began after she filed an application to switch her allegiance from Nigeria to Qatar and later Turkey citing the administrative failures that she said robbed her of appearances at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She had been prevented from competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics after AFN officials failed to register her for the women’s 100 metres event, despite her having qualified.

World Athletics subsequently rejected her nationality transfer application, ruling that it was part of a broader, government-backed effort by Turkey to recruit foreign athletes ahead of the 2028 Olympics, and citing concerns about the integrity of international competition.

Since that bid for a switch became public, Ofili has not competed for Nigeria. Her last appearance in the green and white was at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she finished sixth in the women’s 200 metres final. With the trials now underway without her, the responsibility of leading Nigeria’s women’s sprint challenge in Glasgow is expected to fall on the shoulders of Rosemary Chukwuma and other emerging talents.