Canadian Olympic wrestling champion Daniel Igali will probably think twice the next time he ponders a return to his native Nigeria.
Two weeks ago, he was confronted by four men in his private residence in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while watching television with his brother. The thugs demanded valuables before striking Igali.
Canadian Daniel Igali won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
(Canadian Press)
He lost phones, laptop computers and cash to the tune of 1.5 million naira, or $13,625 Cdn, according to the Lagos-based Daily Champion newspaper.
Tramautized by the incident, Igali said he isn't sure he wants to remain in Nigeria.
"I thought I was doing a good thing, coming home and helping in community development," said Igali, who commissioned a modern sports academy in September in his home town of Enewari. "I have spent so much time and resources trying to uplift the quality of life here.
"If this is how I want to be paid then I had better stay back in Canada."
Igali, who resides in Burnaby, B.C., told the Daily Sunsport of Lagos that he was stabbed in the neck and "beaten up with the butts of their guns."
Igali shone for Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, winning a gold medal in the men's 69-kilogram division.
With files from the Canadian Press
