Monday, October 14, 2024 - The Minister of Sports, John Enoh, has condemned the Libyan authorities’ treatment of the Super Eagles team ahead of its second leg match slated for Tuesday in the country.
The Nigerian contingent, who were billed to
land in Benghazi for the second leg of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
qualifier against Libya, scheduled for Tuesday, was unexpectedly diverted
mid-flight to Al Abraq, a small airport typically reserved for hajj operations.
The unexpected diversion left the players
and officials stranded without any assistance from the Libyan Football
Federation, which failed to provide transportation.
Reacting to the development in a statement
on Monday, Enoh said he had reported the incident to all necessary authorities,
adding that the focus was the safety of the senior men’s team.
The minister described the current
situation of the Super Eagles as an ‘almost hostage’ situation.
The statement reads, “I strongly condemn the
obnoxious treatment meted out to players and officials of the Senior National
Team, the Super Eagles, who arrived in Libya yesterday, the 13th of October,
for the reverse version of the match played on Friday in Uyo, the AFCON 2025
Group D qualifiers.
“The National Team was en route to Benghazi
but was diverted on approach the airport(with very scant attention to their
safety) to Al Abaq Airport, which is hours away from Benghazi, where their
match is slated to take place.
“All through the night, I have escalated
the matter and involved all necessary authorities. From the Foreign Affairs
Minister, the National Security Adviser, the DG NIA, Amaju Pinnick, our CAF
Executive member. I have also remained in touch with both the president of the
NFF, who is on the ground with the team and the Chairman of Value Jet, owners
of the plane that airlifted the team to Libya.
“All hands must be on deck to protect our
National Team. The Team have succinctly stated that they have been unattended
to for upwards of about 15 hrs since arrival, with no food, no accommodation,
left in a mosquito-infested environment and cordoned off by Libyan security not
to step out of the airport, and they have access to nothing. To say the least,
they face an almost ‘hostage’ situation. These are sportsmen set to compete in
an AFCON qualifying match come Tuesday!
“For now, our primary concern is the safety
of the members of our national team. With the events of the past hours, their
safety is not guaranteed, and the team insists they’re unable to go ahead with
the match not just because of the trauma and consequent psychological torture
but also because of fear for their safety.
The minister stated that he had directed
the Nigeria Football Federation President to lay a formal complaint to the
Confederation of African Football to take action on the matter.
He said, “As Sports Minister, I have
instructed the NFF president to lay a formal complaint to CAF without prejudice
to any actions already taken. This must be on record and thoroughly addressed.
This morning, I was on a conference call with the CAF President and CAF
Secretary General.
“While the CAF President’s concern seems to
be what to do to get the national team to participate in tomorrow’s match, I
have instead informed CAF that the concern of the Government and people of
Nigeria is first, the safety of the team and their safe return, urging that CAF
should focus on working with us to achieve this. There must be a serious
adverse conseqùence to the Libyan football federation for this unspeakable
behaviour.
“This can not be done by insisting that
Nigeria still takes part in this match, given the very obvious situation. I
strongly condemn the obnoxious treatment meted out to players and officials of
the Senior National Team, the Super Eagles, who arrived in Libya yesterday, the
13th of October, for the reverse version of the match played on Friday in Uyo,
the AFCON 2025 Group D qualifiers.
“The National Team was en route to Benghazi
but was diverted on approach the airport(with very scant attention to their
safety), to Al Abaq Airport, which is hours away from Benghazi, where their
match is slated to take place.”
Enoh stated that he has escalated the
ill-treatment meted out to the Super Eagles by the Libyan authorities since
they landed at the Al Abaq Airport on Sunday to all concerned authorities.
He added, “All through the night, I have
escalated the matter and involved all necessary authorities. From the Foreign
Affairs Minister, the National Security Adviser, the DG NIA, Amaju Pinnick, our
CAF Executive member.
“I have also remained in touch with both the
president of the NFF, who is on the ground with the team and the Chairman of
Value Jet, owners of the plane that airlifted the team to Libya. All hands must
be on deck to protect our National Team.
“The Team have succinctly stated that they
have been unattended to for upwards of about 15 hrs since arrival, with no
food, no accommodation, left in a mosquito-infested environment and cordoned
off by Libyan security not to step out of the airport, and they have access to
nothing.
“To say the least, they face an almost
‘hostage’ situation. These are sportsmen set to compete in an AFCON qualifying
match come Tuesday! For now, our primary concern is the safety of the members
of our national team.”
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