Anambra State governor, Charles Soludo, has announced that former Nigerian tennis champion, Tanya Okpala, who was seen begging in a viral video on social media, has been taken into custody.
Okpala was captured begging for alms on the streets of Awka, the Anambra State capital.
The mixed-race tennis champion sais that she had been labelled a prostitute by people in the area and had been asked to return to her country, but she considers herself a black Igbo lady.
She, however, appealed for help, saying that she was planning to return to her village the next day to care for her daughter till further notice.
In a post via X on Sunday, Soludo disclosed that Tanya is currently in the custody of the Anambra State Government.
He wrote, “Tanya Okpala (Fmr Tennis champion) is now in the custody of the Anambra State Government.
“She was with the Commissioner for Women Affairs when my wife spoke with her on the phone.
“My government will ensure her rehabilitation and fruitful reunion with her daughter and family.”
Tanya Okpala and her sister, Katya, represented Nigeria in tennis in the 1990s. They were born to a Belarusian mother and an Igbo father.
