Nigeria’s Flames collected 34 medals, including 13 golds, in a dominant home performance that underlined the country’s growing stature in African archery.
The team excelled across all three bow categories — recurve, compound and barebow — with 29 of the 36 archers representing Nigeria earning at least one medal. Côte d’Ivoire placed second in the standings with two gold medals, while Guinea followed, illustrating the scale of Nigeria’s superiority.
While the home setting may be seen by some as an advantage, the Abuja success was not an isolated result.
The outcome at TIZOCATA followed a breakthrough African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria, only three months earlier. There, the Flames secured one gold, five silvers and one bronze, finishing sixth overall among the competing countries. It represented a major step forward for a Nigerian side whose previous continental record consisted of only two silver medals.
Abuja therefore extended the progress made in Oran. The results reflected sustained preparation, greater commitment from the archers, increasingly assured coaching and stronger organisational foundations. Within one season, Nigeria has moved from being an emerging challenger to a regional pacesetter. Oran proved the country could compete on the African stage; TIZOCATA demonstrated its ambition to take command of it.
Several competitors made particularly important contributions. Tobi Bello set the standard in Olympic recurve, finishing first in qualification with 520 points over 70 metres before taking the men’s recurve gold against leading rivals from Benin and Zimbabwe.
Na’allah Abdulhakeem delivered one of the event’s standout stories. Having started archery only this year, and with less than a month of practice at the competition distance before travelling to Abuja, he won the Compound Men title before adding another gold in the Compound Mixed Team event.
His mixed-team partner, Enyenihi Kachollom, also left Abuja with two gold medals after winning the Compound Women individual competition and the Compound Mixed Team crown.
Kachollom was among the founding members of Nigeria’s compound team and one of the four archers who helped launch the country’s revival in the discipline. They earned Nigeria its first continental archery medals at the 2022 African Archery Championships in South Africa.
Now NAFED’s Women’s Development Leader, Kachollom set an example through her performances in Abuja and remains a major role model for women and girls entering the sport.
Team captain Aliyu Abubakar claimed bronze in Compound Men and silver in the Compound Mixed Team. Over the four-day competition, he also provided calm and thoughtful leadership for the Nigerian squad.
Nigeria’s barebow contingent was equally impressive. Usman Abubakar won Barebow Men gold and teamed up with Faith Adekogbe to claim the Barebow Mixed Team title. Dominion Makanjuola took gold in Barebow Women and also earned mixed-team bronze. In women’s recurve, Eteidung Mandu headed an all-Nigerian podium, with Aminat Adeyemi winning silver and Folashade Oyebola taking bronze.
The event also offered clear evidence that a new generation is emerging.
Danjuma Vinsent led another Nigerian podium sweep in Beginner Barebow Men 30m. Vivian Ajibo and Hauwa Waki Pindar won gold and silver respectively in Beginner Barebow Women 18m, while Bikom Justina and Gabriel Mogaji took the Beginner Barebow 30m Mixed Team championship. Nigeria had 17 competitors in the beginner categories, highlighting the expanding depth of the sport nationally.
The tournament programme also featured a judges’ course, an important step in strengthening the federation away from the shooting range.
NAFED staged its Level 1 National Archery Judges Course in Abuja from 5 to 11 October 2026. The course was led by Dr Ahmed Koura, a World Archery International Judge.
A total of 22 candidates received training. Fifteen passed the assessment to become Level 1 World Archery National Judges, while the remaining participants were awarded certificates of participation. The new officials will expand NAFED’s technical resources and help improve officiating standards at club, state and national competitions throughout Nigeria.
The focus now is on maintaining the momentum, with the development of Under-18 recurve archers identified as a central objective for 2027. That category provides the route towards future Olympic and continental teams and will receive increased attention.
Nigeria already has promising young talent, including Under-18 archer Alexander Harry-Erin, who is regarded as one of the country’s future prospects. He faced strong junior competitors from around the region in Abuja, gaining the type of experience needed for long-term development. With organised training, quality coaching and regular international exposure, archers such as Alexander can help carry the Flames into the future.
