Federal Government, on Monday, summoned Libya’s Chargé d’affaires to resolve the situation involving the national football team, the Super Eagles, who were stranded for over 12 hours after arriving in the North African country.
The team arrived in Libya for the return leg of the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers after beating the Mediterranean Knights of Libya 1-0 in Akwa Ibom last Friday.
Confirming the development, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, told State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday, “We have summoned the Libyan chargé d’affaires.”
According to Tuggar, the Super Eagles were redirected to an airport without aviation fuel, resulting in their being stranded.
The Super Eagles recently faced a distressing ordeal upon their arrival in Libya for the match.
It was learnt that the team’s flight, initially bound for Benghazi, was unexpectedly diverted to Al Abraq International Airport, a remote location typically used for religious pilgrimages.
The team’s captain, William Troost-Ekong, revealed on his X handle that upon landing, the players and staff, were left stranded for over 12 hours at the airport without food, water or transportation.
Troost-Ekong said the Libyan authorities failed to render any assistance, leaving the team frustrated and fatigued.
He described the conditions as intolerable, stating that the team was essentially held “hostage” under unsafe and inhumane conditions.
Reacting to the ordeal, the Super Eagles decided to boycott the AFCON qualifier, with the Nigeria Football Federation supporting their decision.
NFF also began to make arrangements to return the team to Nigeria safely as concerns grew over their safety and well-being.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister described the incident as “unfortunate”, saying the Nigerian Government is in touch with Libyan authorities to get to the root of the matter.
Tuggar said, “Suffice it to say that we have established contact with them. We’ve sent people from the mission to go there. They are in touch with the delegation.
“Now I am also communicating directly with the chairman, and since last night, we’ve been on the phone with the chargé d’affaires because Libya Doesn’t have an ambassador here.
“So, we’re 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’re on top of the situation.”
He hinted that Libya’s gesture might be connected to a similar incident in the first leg of the qualifiers, where its national team landed at the Port Harcourt airport instead of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Friday, October 11.
“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. They were supposed to land in Uyo. Instead, they landed in Port Harcourt, where they were not supposed to land.
“Now our team has gone to Libya, and somehow, the plane gets diverted to a different airport. 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. No food.
“When they (the Libyan team) landed they even got some cartoons of water.”
Super Eagles are believed to have already departed Libya for Nigeria.
