The Libyan Football Federation stated that it won’t tolerate excuses from the Nigeria Football Federation for boycotting the second leg of the Group D 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifier match against the Super Eagles.

This announcement was made on the LFF’s X handle on Tuesday, following the Super Eagles’ departure from Libya after a 16-hour stranded period at Al Abaq Airport due to an unexpected diversion on Sunday. This incident led Nigeria to withdraw from the match initially scheduled for today.

While sharing photos of their players’ training session, the LFF noted:

“Some may be used to putting up obstacles before the match, but here in the heart of Benghazi, specifically on the grounds of the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, there is no room for excuses after the starting whistle.

“Photos from our national team’s training at the Martyrs of Benina International Stadium, in preparation for the match against Nigeria on Tuesday evening, as part of the fourth round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.”

Recall that the LFF has condemned Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Libya, threatening to take legal action to protect its national team’s interests.

In its statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation of failing to cooperate in organising the match and causing the confusion that led to the current situation.

The statement read, “The Libyan Football Federation condemns the measures taken by the Nigerian Football Federation by refusing to play the Libya-Nigeria match in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, stressing that it will take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the Libyan national football team.”

“The Libyan Federation attaches some inhumane footage that did not prevent the Libyan mission from playing the Nigeria-Libya match last Friday in Nigeria, out of cooperation with the Confederation of African Football.

“The Libyan Football Federation clarifies that its Nigerian counterpart did not cooperate with it in any way, whether regarding the first or second leg match, noting that the events beyond our control do not equal a small part of what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg match,” it said.

The Federal Government has said the petition by Yoruba nation agitator, Mr Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as “Sunday Igboho”, calling on the United Kingdom to consider the Yoruba nation was not endorsed by the UK government.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Eche Abu-Obe, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said media reports on the petition “were highly misleading.”

He explained that “Following media reports on the petition submitted at No. 10 Downing Street by Mr Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho, the British High Commissioner in Abuja was invited to shed light on the issue.

“During the meeting, the High Commissioner noted with concern that the matter was overblown, indicating that the media reports were highly misleading.

“Furthermore, the High Commissioner informed that he was aware of the letter being delivered but added that it was merely an established practice of allowing the delivery of letters and petitions to No. 10.

“It was not endorsed by any agency of the UK government nor the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.

“The UK government typically does not concern itself with petitions concerning the sovereign affairs of another country.”

He quoted the high commissioner to have informed that “such petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK Government in the past.”

He further agreed to continue liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as needed, while reiterating the importance of the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

Recall Igboho, according to his spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, in a post on Sunday via his X handle submitted a petition to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, to consider the creation of a Yoruba nation.

He stated that Igboho submitted the petition on behalf of the leader of the Yoruba Nation movement, Prof. Adebanji Akintoye.

He wrote, “At exactly 14:00 hrs Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho delivered a petition to the UK Prime Minister on behalf of Prof. Adebanji Akintoye, leader of the YORUBA NATION movement, and Olayomi Koiki, his spokesman @10DowningStreet.”

The Tunisian pilot who flew the Super Eagles of Nigeria to Libya has addressed the controversy surrounding the flight diversion.

In a now-viral video, the pilot explained that the original plan was to land in Benina, a town in the Benghazi area of Libya, with prior approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority.

However, as they began their descent, he was instructed to divert to Al-Abraq, which was not listed as an alternate airport.

The pilot stated that the order for the flight diversion came from “Libya’s highest authorities.”

He expressed that he repeatedly questioned the flight diversion order due to limited aviation fuel but was “ignored by Libyan aviation authorities.”

“The flight plan was to land in Benghazi, Benina, and we had approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority,” the pilot said.

“However, as we began our descent, we were instructed to divert to Al-Abraq, which wasn’t even listed as our alternate airport.

“This decision came from the highest authorities, not me. In aviation, we calculate fuel based on our destination. Diverting unexpectedly can compromise safety.

“Everything is documented. I asked to land in Benghazi as per my flight plan, but they denied it, instructing me to divert immediately.

“I repeatedly questioned the directive and warned them about fuel limitations, but they insisted that we land in Al-Abraq, citing orders from the highest authority” he said.