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Sports Festival: Imo Boxer Dies in Ring, Coach Blames Medics
Following the death of boxer Chukwuemeka Igboanugo at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Asaba, Delta State on Tuesday, a boxing coach has blamed the medical personnel at the venue for their treatment and inaction that could have saved the athlete’s life.
Igboanugo, who was representing Imo State, was said to have passed out after he received multiple punches in the chin from Anambra’s Gaby Amagor in their 86kg category bout.
The referee thereupon ended the fight after he failed to recover.
“He was immediately taken out of the ring for medical treatment before being rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead,” a boxing official stated.
But Borno State coach, Endurance Aberegidi, who was at the venue when the boxer was knocked down, told our correspondent what happened in the ring on Monday and how the boxer gave up the ghost.
“It was a pathetic situation. These guy trained for years and after getting a national opportunity, he then dies in the ring,” he said.
“I was in the ring side when he fell and the medics rushed in and tried to revive him. He slightly responded and they took him to the emergency unit, then they asked for the boxer’s coach.
“I walked up to them and they told me that the boy was not responding to treatment,” Aberegidi said.
The coach told our correspondent how much time they wasted in looking for the Imo coach, instead of treating Igboanugo immediately.
“They were looking for the coach for over 20 minutes as the boy was not responding to treatment. I don’t know why they wasted so much time to treat the boy. They should have focused on treating him. They said the boy didn’t allow anyone to treat him and after a short while, they came back and said he had given up the ghost,” he said.
Lagos State boxer, Israel Makinde, lamented Igboanugo’s death.
“It’s weird, it’s so painful. But I am not scared, I think you must be aware of your health before the fight and so I am trying to prepare for my semi-final clash in the flyweight tomorrow,” he said.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
