LIBYA: Following the verdict delivered by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding a complaint from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) about the treatment of the Super Eagles in Libya, reports have emerged of mass arrests and fines targeting Nigerians in the country.
The Nigerian football team was detained for over 20 hours at Al-Abraq Airport in eastern Libya upon their arrival for the second leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya. Originally, the team was scheduled to land at Benghazi Airport and then travel by road for nearly four hours to the match location in Benina.
However, less than an hour before landing, the Tunisian pilot received a directive from Libyan authorities to divert the flight to Al-Abraq Airport, located 150 miles from the intended destination.
This incident sparked widespread outrage, leading the NFF to withdraw the Super Eagles from the match and lodge an official complaint with CAF. On October 26, CAF’s disciplinary committee ruled in favor of the Super Eagles, awarding them three points and three goals for the abandoned match, stating that the Libya Football Federation ZFF violated several regulations. The LFF was also fined $50,000, to be paid within 60 days.
LFF President Nasser Al-Suwai’i criticized the decision as “unjust and malicious, alleging that the NFF’s influence within CAF impacted the ruling. He announced plans to appeal and, if necessary, escalate the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the aftermath of the CAF ruling, a popular Libyan news blog reported calls from local media for the government to arrest Nigerian workers in Libya who do not have legal documentation, demanding a $500 fine plus taxes. Some Libyan TV presenters also encouraged the arrest of Nigerians working without tax compliance, labeling their earnings as “sinful money.”
The situation has led to mass arrests of Nigerians. A resident in Tripoli, Adenaike Emmanuel, confirmed that arrests began on Sunday following the CAF statement. He reported that authorities have been indiscriminately targeting Nigerians, regardless of their legal status.
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Peter Omoregbie, President of the Nigerian community in Libya, echoed these concerns, stating that the arrests began on Sunday night in various areas. He noted that many innocent individuals were being apprehended without regard for their passports or residence permits.
Another Nigerian living in Libya reported an intensification of arrests, indicating that authorities were specifically targeting Nigerians, regardless of their documentation. He called for intervention from the Nigerian government to address the crisis faced by the community.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya, Ahmed Hamza, has warned against retaliatory actions targeting foreign workers in Libya, emphasizing that inciting hostility towards Nigerians is unacceptable. He urged security forces and citizens to refrain from any form of retaliation against migrants in the wake of the CAF decision.
