Julius OkorieThese are unhappy times for Nigerians leaving in Libya as they are indiscriminately being picked up, charged $500 to raise money to pay the $50,000 fine imposed on Libya by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), over misconduct, it has been revealed
Recall that the North Africa country received international condemnation following unprovoked maltreatment of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles who had arrived Libya October 15, for a scheduled second leg AFCON clash against Mediterranean.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelRather than providing enabling environment for the match originally billed for Benina, the Libyan authorities subjected the Nigerian contingent to untold hardship, leaving the team stranded for over 14 hours. As if that was not enough suffering, the contingent had earlier had their chartered plane diverted midair to semi-functional Al-Abraq Airport.
Primebusiness.africa recalls that the contingent was originally scheduled to land at the Benghazi Airport and travel for nearly four hours by road to Benina, where the match was to be played.
The unexpected diversion of the flight exposed the contingent to danger, which was only averted by the expertise of the Pilot. The maltreatment and subsequent fallout, sparked widespread outrage, forcing the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to withdraw the Super Eagles from the qualifying match and file official complaints to CAF.
In its ruling on Saturday, October 26, signed by its Chairman, Ousmane Kane, the disciplinary committee of the African football body awarded the Super Eagles of Nigeria three points and three goals for the abandoned match.
The disciplinary board ruled that the Libyan Football Federation breached Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations and Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.
The panel also ordered the LFF to pay a fine of $50,000 within 60 days of the notification of the decision.
President of Libya Football Federation (LFF), Nasser Al-Suwai’I, described it as “unjust and malicious,” alleging that the NFF’s influence within CAF played a major role in the outcome, even as the country threatened to drag both CAF and Nigeria to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
Nobody has stopped the Libyan authorities from proceeding with its legal. It appears however that the authorities are combining the proposed move with campaign against Nigerians residing in the country.
READ ALSO :Libya Begins Mass Arrest Of Nigerians After CAF verdict Amid Warning Of Retaliation
Libyan site, Libya INF.TV, reported that Libyan stations want the government to start arresting Nigerian workers.
“Those who don’t have Libyan papers will have to pay a fine of $500 for taxes. If you refuse deportation, no mercy. The Libyan government will pay the Nigerian government from their citizens’ money,” the post said.
The Libyan authorities say the fine will be paid but must be paid by Nigerian government by her citizens resident in Libya, hence the indiscriminate arrest.
A Nigerian resident in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Adenaike Emmanuel, told the Punch that the mass arrests started on Sunday after the CAF statement was released in the country.
“They have already started. The news came out on Saturday, and they were saying they can’t accept it and that they are not the ones who will pay the money. They have started proving this.
“Someone called me and said they had already begun arresting people in his area. The same thing is happening here in Tripoli. In some places, people were arrested on Sunday morning and afternoon. As I mentioned before, Libyans don’t hide their feelings. They believe that by doing this, they are getting their revenge,” Adenaike stated.
The latest development is set to trigger a review in Nigeria and Libya relationship. For a long time, the Nigeria Diaspora Commission has urged Nigerians to avoid Libya because of reported inhuman treatment many of them including those who have legal papers have had to be subjected to every now and then.
In recent times, hardly a day passes without report of hundreds of Nigerians being deported from Libya, ironically the number of Nigerians in Libya continues to increase.
On September 10, the Diaspora Commission headed by Former member of the House of Representative Hon. Abike Dabiri, posted a video confirming the rescue of 10,000 Nigerians from Libya with an appeal for Nigerians to stop heading to Libya in search of nonexistent greener pasture.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
