The Nigerian Senate called on the Libyan government to issue an official apology for the ill-treatment that the Nigerian national football team was subjected to during its arrival to compete in the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Senate expressed its anger after the team, which was traveling with 22 players, technical staff and officials from the Nigeria Football Federation, was transferred to a smaller airport and “detained” for 14 hours between Sunday and Monday.
During the plenary session on Tuesday, the Senate condemned the actions of the Libyan authorities, describing them as a violation of human dignity and international standards of sportsmanship.
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barao Jibrin, said during the All Progressives Conference that this treatment is unacceptable and a disgrace to African unity, according to Nigerian media.
The decision came after NDP Senator Somaila Kawu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, raised a point of order, urging the government to conduct an investigation into the incident.
The Senate affirmed that Libya’s actions contradict the principles of sports that aim to promote unity and friendship among nations, according to the statement.
Jibrin explained that the matter was raised based on a personal interpretation by the Chairman of the Senate Sports Committee, Senator Suleiman Abdul Rahman Kaw Sumaila, saying that what happened to the Nigerian Eagles in Libya contradicts the spirit of sports. And that the treatment their players received was “horrible and unacceptable.”
Jibrin concluded by calling on the ambassador, the relevant authorities, and everyone involved in the matter to come forward and issue an apology for what happened to the Nigerian national team.
Nigerian Sports Minister John Enoh also condemned this incident, what he called the “abhorrent treatment” to which players and officials of the Nigerian national team were subjected.
Enoh added in a statement on Monday that the members of the delegation had remained without care for approximately more than 15 hours since their arrival, without food or housing, and were left in an environment infested with mosquitoes, and were cordoned off by Libyan security, so that they would not leave the airport.
On Tuesday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the cancellation of the match between Libya and Nigeria in the fourth round of qualifiers for the 2025 African Cup of Nations until its events are decided by the Disciplinary Committee on October 22, at the meeting of the Federation’s Executive Committee in Ethiopia.
The Libyan Football Association confirmed that the accident was not intentional, and urged Nigeria to understand the situation, noting that the diversion of their flight was not intentional, and that disruptions could occur due to routine air traffic protocols, security controls, or other logistical challenges.
The Libyan Federation strongly rejected any allegations indicating that there was something dishonest or sabotage in this situation, and we hope that this misunderstanding will be resolved with understanding and good intentions.
The Libyan national team’s delegation in the first leg of the round had previously experienced difficulties during its trip to Nigeria, including waiting for long hours at Abuja International Airport without an official reception, and delays in the buses designated to transport the players to the hotel.
The mission also headed to the Nigerian city of Uyo by land in difficult circumstances, amid the authorities’ refusal to return the national team by land, due to what they called the security conditions, she said, asking officials to coordinate the return by air to Abuja and then to Libya, which delayed the return of the players. Because there are no aircraft available at the airport.
The captain of the Libyan national team, Faisal Al-Badri, said that the team was subjected to a comprehensive inspection inside the plane that took an hour, in addition to a delay in transportation between cities that lasted 3 hours, despite the use of a private plane.
Al-Badri added that they were informed that there was no police patrol to secure the mission, and that they took unpaved paths in complete darkness, and the trip took 5 hours in risky conditions, and we arrived at the hotel in the late hours of the night, with the accommodation conditions deteriorating, stressing that this is not the first time that The team is subjected to bad treatment in Africa. According to him.
Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi + Libya Al-Ahrar Channel