The contingent was scheduled to land at the Benghazi Airport and travel for nearly four hours by road to Benina, where the match was to be played.
However, less than an hour before landing, the Tunisian pilot reportedly received a directive from Libyan authorities to divert the flight to the Al-Abraq Airport, located 150 miles away from the destination.
Less than an hour prior to landing, however, Libyan officials allegedly ordered the Tunisian pilot to change the flight’s destination to the 150-mile-away Al-Abraq Airport.
Widespread indignation at the development prompted the NFF to formally complain to CAF and remove the Super Eagles from the qualifying match.
The African football body’s disciplinary committee gave the Super Eagles of Nigeria three points and three goals for the postponed game in a decision issued by its chairman, Ousmane Kane, on Saturday, October 26.
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 by the African Football Association (CAF) for breaching Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations and Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code. The LFF President, Nasser Al-Suwai’I, described the verdict as “unjust and malicious,” alleging that the NFF’s influence within CAF played a major role in the outcome. If the appeal is denied, the LFF would resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to ensure “their legitimate rights are secured.”
Posts on Libya News Today 1, Libya INF.TV, and other Libyan sites have called for the arrest of Nigerian workers without legal papers and taxes. The arrests began on Sunday after the CAF statement was released in Libya, and the President of the Nigerian community in Libya, Peter Omoregbie, confirmed the arrests. The National Institution for Human Rights in Libya, Ahmed Hamza, has warned against retaliatory acts targeting Nigerian workers in the country in the aftermath of the CAF ruling. Hamza noted that some media platforms were inciting hostility towards foreigners by portraying them as illegal or irregular residents. He cautioned that unlawful actions against foreigners could lead to repercussions in domestic and even international justice.
The Libyan embassy in Abuja has not commented on the situation, but a Nigerian resident in Tripoli, Adenaike Emmanuel, said the arrests began on Sunday after the CAF statement was released in the country. The arrests have intensified, with Nigerians pleading for the Libyan police to stop the indiscriminate arrests.
