Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar has denied that the country apologised to Libya after the Super Eagles were detained in Benghazi. This is following a report by The Libya Observer that Nigeria had apologised for the situation.
In a statement released by Alkasim Abdulkadir, the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communication Strategy, Tuggar described the report as an attempt to mislead African football officials and fans and gain political advantage.
He said the report misquoted him and Libya’s Eastern based Foreign Minister, Abdelhadi Lahweej.
Tuggar said instead of apologising, Nigeria expressed displeasure at the treatment of the national team and demanded a quick resolution.
“The Nigerian government summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Government of National Unity to the Ministry to end the situation immediately,” the statement said.
The meeting however didn’t yield much diplomatic progress as the Libyan officials claimed the matter was under the jurisdiction of the Eastern government of Benghazi not Tripoli which they represented. So Minister Tuggar decided to reach out to Abdelhadi Lahweej to release the Super Eagles.
Tuggar said after negotiations permission was granted for the Nigerian team to leave Libya. The situation was defused.
The statement added: “The aircraft was cleared to fly, aviation fuel was secured. Both ministers agreed to cool down the situation.”
Lahweej tried to raise issues about the treatment of Libyan players during their visit to Nigeria, Tuggar corrected the misinformation and refused to apologise as the allegations were baseless.
Tuggar said Lahweej proposed a joint statement to address the issue, Nigeria rejected it as it was misrepresenting the facts.
According to the PUNCH, the Nigerian team flew into Libya for the second leg of the 2025 AFCON qualifying match but were subjected to harsh treatment on arrival. They were held at the airport for over 20 hours without food and water. CAF has since opened up an investigation.
Follow Us
