Sports played in Nigeria
Scuba Diving in Nigeria
Wreck dives off Lagos, PADI training and the Olympic sport of diving.
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Under the surface
Diving and scuba diving in Nigeria
Diving is not as common as scuba diving in Nigeria. It involves jumping from a diving board or exploring underwater, usually while performing acrobatics. It is an activity where the diver has to jump headfirst into the water.
It is recognized internationally and is one of the most popular sports of the Olympic Games. Diving athletes possess some of the features of gymnasts and that of dancers. It shares a governing body with the other aquatic sports: World Aquatics (formerly FINA) internationally and the Nigeria Aquatics Federation at home. Some of the elite divers were formerly gymnasts or dancers, with similar features.
Diving comprises different categories: springboard diving (1 m and 3 m), platform or high diving (10 m) and synchronized diving. In the diving competition, divers must be able to perform a set number of dives according to requirements, which include somersaults and twists and are scored on whether and how well they completed all the facets of the dive following the movement of their body and the amount of splash made while entering the water.
Each judge gives a score out of ten, in half-point steps, looking at the approach, the takeoff, the flight and the entry. The highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the total of the remaining scores is multiplied by a degree of difficulty gained from the number and combination of movements achieved. The diver with the highest score following a series of dives is declared the winner of the game.
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Scuba diving
Scuba diving is mostly not common in Nigeria but is more common than diving. It involves using a particular swimming outfit, and the diver is equipped with special breathing equipment. A scuba diving club in Lagos State is the first authorized PADI Dive Resort in Nigeria, while Nigeria’s competitive divers train on the 1 m and 3 m springboards to compete in inter-club competition, national and international events.
The sport of scuba diving can also be combined with other underwater sports activities like underwater hockey and underwater rugby.
Statistics · Checked 30 September 2026
Diving in Nigeria in numbers
-
Nov-Apr
Dive season
Dry season off Lagos
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5-15 m
Visibility
Varies with tides
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30 m
Training depth
PADI Advanced Open Water
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1st
PADI operator
ScubaLagos, Ikoyi
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3
Diving heights
1 m, 3 m, 10 m
-
10
Top judge score
In half-point steps
-
14-65
Student ages
At ScubaLagos
-
8
Students per divemaster
Maximum class size
Quick answers
Diving in Nigeria: facts and figures
Can you scuba dive in Nigeria?
Yes. Lagos has a small but active scuba scene. ScubaLagos, the first PADI dive operator in Nigeria, trains divers in Ikoyi and runs boat dives to shipwrecks off the Lagos coast from November to April.
What is the difference between diving and scuba diving?
Diving is an Olympic sport in which athletes jump from a springboard or platform and perform somersaults and twists before entering the water. Scuba diving is swimming underwater with a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCUBA) to explore wrecks and marine life.
What will I see scuba diving in Lagos?
Wrecks encrusted with coral and sponges, schools of Atlantic fish, batfish, moray eels, rays, snapper, jacks and sometimes reef sharks.
Who governs diving in Nigeria?
Competitive diving falls under the Nigeria Aquatics Federation, led since 6 June 2026 by Lekan Fatodu, and internationally under World Aquatics. Recreational scuba training follows international agencies such as PADI.
Has Nigeria competed in Olympic diving?
We have found no record of a Nigerian diver at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games or the African Games. Nigeria’s aquatics athletes have so far competed in swimming.