Nigeria, Dec. 9 -- The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has constituted a special investigative panel to probe widespread age discrepancies that have plunged the federation into another round of crisis.

The committee, chaired by AFN Vice President Abubakar Ladan Zurmi, has been given a tight deadline to determine how several Nigerian athletes ended up with multiple, conflicting birth dates-some as much as 4 years apart.

The panel includes legal and sports governance figures such as Musa Amadu, former NBA star and NOC Vice President Olumide Oyedeji, AFN Legal Adviser Dele Edokoayi and Mbora Ikana of the National Sports Commission (NSC).

Their mandate is to uncover the origins of the contradictions and recommend sanctions before the...