Nigerian boxer’s death: GBA spokesperson questions probe committee’s motives – Nsemkeka
The Communications Director of the Ghana Boxing Authority, Mohammed Amin Lamptey, has raised concerns over the credibility of the report submitted by the committee set up by the Sports and Recreation Minister to investigate the death of Nigerian boxer Gabriel Olanrewaju.
Olanrewaju, a former West African champion, collapsed during a bout at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra on March 29 and was later pronounced dead at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The committee’s report, submitted last month, revealed that the GBA sanctioned the fight despite the absence of a valid contract between the Nigerian boxer and the promoter, among other major structural flaws in the GBA.
However, Amin Lamptey is now questioning the impartiality of the committee members.
‘‘No one invited me to the committee. I was the ring announcer, I was closer to the scene than anybody. When the incident happened, I was the one going on radio and television shows explaining what happened.’’
Amin Lamptey also questioned the committee’s choice of witnesses for its investigations.
‘‘Do you know the individuals who were invited? Moses Foh Amoaning, he has a bone to pick with the GBA. Then Carlo Lokko, a trainer and GBA board member but he was also not at the event. Roger Barnor, who was also not at the scene. Then Yoofi Boham who has reported the GBA to EOCO. He was not well but he was invited. There are a lot of individuals who were not close to the scene but were invited,’’ he concluded.
In an investigation that spanned six weeks, the committee spoke to diplomats, promoters, matchmakers, boxers, executives of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBBofC), and their Ghanaian counterparts, the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA).
The committee discovered that the GBA sanctioned the bout even though there was no valid contract between the Nigerian boxer and the fight promoter.
It also found that not only did the GBA sanction the bout without a valid contract, but it’s Nigerian counterparts; the NiGerian Boxing Board of Control (NBBofC) were in on the act. Â
What’s more, the GBA and the fight promoters admitted that there was no mandatory medical assessment for this fight.
The mandatory pre-boxing medical assessments are necessary for ensuring that the boxer has no underlying medical conditions that could be further exacerbated by their participation in a professional fight. These assessments usually include a physical examination, neurological tests, heart and fitness tests, and vision tests.
If there were underlying issues that made him susceptible to a cardiac arrest, they could have been identified during the pre-bout mandatory medical assessment.
Any chances of the boxer surviving the cardiac arrest were further depleted by the fact that there were no doctors at ring-side, to provide the necessary emergency response.
In fact, the GBA’s entire emergency response infrastructure, according to the committee, is made up of just one nurse, parading as a qualified medical doctor.
If there were underlying issues that made him susceptible to a cardiac arrest, they could have been identified during the pre-bout mandatory medical assessment.
Any chances of the boxer surviving the cardiac arrest were further depleted by the fact that there were no doctors at ring-side, to provide the necessary emergency response.
In fact, the GBA’s entire emergency response infrastructure, according to the committee, is made up of just one nurse, parading as a qualified medical doctor.
Last month, the Amarkai Amarteifio Committee presented its report to the sector Minister Kofi Adams after 21 days of looking into the matter.
The Ministry has since adopted the report but is yet to announce any subsequent action on the matter.