THE federal government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has declared that Nigerians living in Libya are safe.
The ministry assured Nigerians living in the North African country of its commitment to their safety and welfare.
The Ministry gave the assurance in a statement on Sunday, November 3, signed by its spokesperson, Eche Abu-Obe.
The statement followed recent reports that Nigerians in Libya were being attacked by Libyan authorities, following the verdict of a recent ruling by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against the Libyan Football Association (FA) which indicted them for their ill-treatment of the Nigerian team and officials while in Libya for a Nations Cup qualifying match in October.
The ministry underlined the government’s commitment to Nigerian citizens’ welfare in the face of diplomatic events by stressing its ongoing watchfulness and readiness to defend them overseas.
They also stated that as of the time of making its statement, Nigerians in Libya are going about their daily activities, devoid of any form of harassment by Libyan authorities.
The ministry reiterated that the well-being of Nigerian citizens anywhere in the world is a top priority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will continue to strive to safeguard it at all times.
The ICIR reported that CAF awarded all three points to the Nigeria Super Eagles in the abandoned Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Libya.
The CAF Disciplinary Board also awarded three goals to Nigeria from the botched match.
The decision to award the points and goals followed CAF’s investigation into what transpired in the October 15 Africa Cup of Nations second leg abandoned match in Benghazi, Libya.
The Nigerian Super Eagles abandoned the match following mistreatment by the host country.
The Libyan authorities left the Super Eagles, supporters, and staff stranded at its airport for almost a day.
In its decision, released in a statement on its website on Saturday, October 26, CAF declared that the Libya Football Federation violated Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code, in addition to Article 31 of the African Cup of Nations Regulations.
It therefore ordered the Libyan Football Federation to pay a fine of USD 50,000.
According to the body, the fine is to be paid within 60 days of the decision.
The ICIR reported that the Super Eagles boycotted the reverse match.
The team defeated the Libyan Mediterranean Knights 1:0 at the Uyo Stadium on Friday, October 11, and hoped to be victorious again in the oil-rich North African nation the following Tuesday.
However, the team’s ordeal began on Sunday, October 13, when its flight was unexpectedly diverted to a different airport, away from Benghazi, where it was supposed to play a reverse match, causing the Super Eagles to be stranded for hours.
Images of the team circulated by the team’s captain, Williams Troos-Ekong, showed players lying on airport benches, visibly fatigued, as they waited for the crisis to be resolved.
Moving from the Al Abraq Airport would make the team travel by road for three hours before reaching Benghazi.
The team eventually returned home after abandoning the match.
A reporter with the ICIR
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