The Federal Government on Monday, summoned the Libyan Charge d’Affaires in Abuja over the alleged mistreatment of the Super Eagles players and officials in the North African country, ahead of their AFCON qualifiers.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuga, disclosed this to journalists after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Tuga decried the “unfortunate” treatment the Super Eagles delegation were made to face, but said the country’s mission in Libya have been dispatched to engage them.
He said: “Well, it’s the most unfortunate situation because the Super Eagles flew to Libya to play a match. As you know, the Libyan team was here (last week).
“They were supposed to land in Uyo. Instead, they landed in Port Harcourt. And now our team has gone to Libya, and somehow the plane gets diverted to a different airport.
“And unfortunately, at that airport, there is no aviation fuel, because what we have decided is they need to refuel and get out. We will not be able to allow them to continue.
“You know, it’s a good thing when they (the Libyan delegation) landed in Kano, they actually even got water, otherwise even water would have been a problem.
“But suffice it to say that we have established contact with them. We have sent people from the mission to go there, representing the mission. They are in touch with the delegation.
“Now I am also communicating directly with the chairman (of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF).
“And since last night, we have been on the phone with the Chargé d’affaires because Libya doesn’t have an ambassador here.
“So we are in touch with the Chargé d’affaires. And I’m heading back to the ministry now, where we have summoned the Libyan Chargé d’affaires. This issue has to be resolved as quickly as possible. So we are on top of the situation.” he said.
Meanwhile, after more than 14 hours at the Al Abraq International Airport, the Super Eagles finally got cleared to leave the Libya and return to the country in an abrupt boycott of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, following the incident.
Furthermore, the Comfederation of African Football (CAF) has stepped into the matter, promising to investigate and sanction any party found wanting.
A statement on its website noted that: “The Confederation Africaine de Football, CAF, has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘Super Eagles’) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.
“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.” CAF said.