The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Hon. Kabiru Amadu, has expressed displeasure and deep disappointment over the ill treatment of the Super Eagles in Libya before the AFCON qualifier with the Mediterranean Knights was boycotted by Nigeria.
Players of the Super Eagles and the Nigerian delegation were held hostage for close to 20 hours at the Al Abag Airport by the Libyan authorities.
The lives of members of the Nigerian delegation were put in serious danger when their flight was abruptly diverted to another airport, one hour to landing in Benghazi.
After due consideration of the unpalatable situation, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was left with no option than to pull the Super Eagles out of the 2025 AFCON qualifying match.
The delegation returned to Nigeria yesterday evening via the Aminu Kano International Airport Kano after being granted permission to leave the Libyan airspace.
Reacting to the unfortunate development, the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports said the behaviour of the Libyans had gone beyond normal routine antics that teams do to unsettle their opponents.
He maintained that the unsporting behaviour endangered the lives of the Nigerian delegation and should be condemned by all.
“This is absolutely not sportsmanship and I expect everyone in football to condemn such behaviour in its entirety”.
“You can’t subject players to such a risky treatment because you want to win a game and I strongly feel CAF must take this up because this is not good for the image of football on the continent.
“Our Football in Africa should have gone past barbaric behaviours like this and this is a big challenge for CAF to ensure this kind of thing is not seen around the game,” he said.
Hon. Amadu, however, praised the Super Eagles players for their tenacity and patriotic spirit and assured them that the Nigerian Government will always prioritise their safety.
The Super Eagles were scheduled to take on the Mediterranean Knights on Tuesday in a reversed fixture of the 2025 AFCON Qualifier after defeating them 1-0 in Uyo last Friday.
