BREAKING: Nigerian Govt Reacts to Report of Apologising to Libya Over Super Eagles 'Hostage' Saga

• On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the Libya Observer published a report about the phone correspondence between Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, and the East-based government’s foreign minister
• Nigerian authorities released a statement on Wednesday, October 16, saying the Libya Observer's publication was "a clear case of misinformation"
• Nigeria said never in Tuggar's communication with Libya's factional authorities did he apologise or regret the treatment of Libyan officials and players

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering football and sports in Africa.

FCT, Abuja - Following the unpleasant experience of the Super Eagles in Libya, the Nigerian government on Wednesday, October 16, said the CDA of the government of national unity in the North African nation was summoned to seek an immediate end to "the unfortunate incident".

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The Nigerian government said that, however, not much diplomatic headway was made during the meeting with the acting charge of affairs, Imad Mohammed Matooq Aboud, as they insisted that it was not under the jurisdiction of Tripoli, which they represented, but that of the Eastern government in Benghazi.

According to a statement by Alkasim Abdulkadir, the special assistant on media and communication strategy to the minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, this prompted the minister (Tuggar) to take immediate action by contacting the foreign minister of the eastern government, Abdelhadi Lahweej, to intervene and ensure that the detention ended. Legit.ng obtained the statement.

After that, the aircraft was given the necessary permits to fly the Super Eagles and aviation fuel was accessed.

The statement from the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry said:

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"Both ministers agreed that the matter should be de-escalated immediately. Even when Lahweej insisted on rehashing the untruth about the treatment of Libyan players in Nigeria, Amb Tuggar once again corrected the misinformation about the mistreatment of Libyan players during the Nigerian encounter.

"He did not apologise or regret the treatment of Libyan officials and players because the account was inaccurate."

Nigeria still disappointed with Libya

Furthermore, the statement noted that Nigeria remains unequivocal in expressing its displeasure and disappointment with how the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials were treated in Libya.

It called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to urgently ensure that its disciplinary board investigates the matter and imposes appropriate sanctions based on its statutes.

Nigerian football official speaks on possible rescheduling

Meanwhile, Francis Achi, the media officer of the national under-17 team of Nigeria, said whether or not CAF decides to re-schedule the match, the north Africans will still miss out on consecutive Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments.

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Achi expressed confidence in the Super Eagles' ability to dispatch Libya in a competitive game.

He told Legit.ng:

"Regarding the three points, the worst is to re-schedule the game to another date and neutral venue.

"But if CAF feels otherwise, we 'dash' them the three points. Yet, Libya will not qualify for AFCON for many years."

Tinubu's govt summons Libyan diplomat

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Bola Tinubu government summoned the Libyan Charge d’Affaires in Abuja on Monday, October 14.

Tuggar disclosed the FG's move to newsmen after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng