The Nigerian government has refuted claims that it issued an apology to Libya over the mistreatment of the Super Eagles upon their arrival in the North African country for a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
This comes after The Libya Observer published a report on Tuesday, stating that Libya had received an apology. However, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, dismissed the report.
In a statement on Wednesday, Tuggar’s Special Assistant on Media and Communication Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, called the report a deliberate attempt to mislead football authorities and fans across Africa and gain political leverage.
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Tuggar clarified that during a phone conversation with Libya’s Eastern-based Foreign Minister, Abdelhadi Lahweej, no apology was issued. Instead, the minister sought an immediate resolution to the incident, after Nigeria’s representative in Tripoli had made little progress with Libyan officials, who claimed it was under the jurisdiction of Benghazi’s Eastern Government.
Tuggar also refuted false accusations made by Lahweej regarding the mistreatment of Libyan players in Nigeria and rejected a proposal to issue a joint statement, as it misrepresented the facts of the incident.
The Super Eagles delegation was reportedly detained at the airport for over 20 hours without access to food, water, or the internet. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has since launched an investigation into the incident.