The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has condemned the reported mistreatment of Nigerian players in Libya.
Enoh, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stated that the Federal Government intends to thoroughly investigate the incident.
He emphasized that the Nigerian government is taking the situation seriously, mentioning that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has summoned the Libyan Ambassador to Nigeria.
“I am aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Libyan Ambassador. The Nigerian government so far has not treated this lightly and is not going to treat this lightly because it must get to the bottom of the matter,” he said.
According to reports, players and officials were stranded for hours at a Libyan airport on Sunday and were denied access to food and the internet as they prepared for their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier with the Mediterranean Knights.
It reportedly took diplomatic efforts and social media outcry for the team to finally be cleared to leave Libya.
Additionally, Enoh accused the Libyan Football Federation of “deliberately” mistreating the Super Eagles during their stay.
“The Port Harcourt Airport where they arrived is one of our best airports. That Port Harcourt Airport, there is no circumstance that will lead to a team having the footballers lie on the floor,” he said, rejecting claims by the Libyan side that their players were mistreated during their previous match in Nigeria.
“All these things were created deliberately to create some make belief. If this was an issue, it should have been made an issue there and then.”
