Nigeria’s clash with Libya has descended into chaos after their players were left stranded at an airport in the country with no food or drink.
The two teams faced off in Nigeria in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, with the Super Eagles winning 1-0 courtesy of Fissayo Dele-Bashiru’s late strike.
However, Libya said they faced ‘poor treatment’ surrounding that game and ahead of the return leg, Nigeria’s stars have now been left fuming, with Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi claiming they were being held ‘hostage’.
Reports in Africa claimed that Nigeria’s chartered flight – which was headed to the city of Benghazi – was diverted to Al-Abraq Airport while it was in the air, with the squad prevented from leaving the airport.
Al-Abraq Airport is still about four hours away from Benghazi and the Nigeria squad was left stranded for hours, with several players making staggering claims of mistreatment.
Nigeria’s squad have been left stranded in an airport ahead of their away clash with Libya
William Troost-Ekong, Nigeria’s captain, posted on X: ’12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted whilst descending.
‘Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games.’
Ndidi shared his full thoughts on his Instagram story as he said: ‘This is not football. Very embarrassing. Hostage to a national team. Disgrace.’
Bayer Leverkusen star Victor Boniface added: ‘Been at the airport for almost 13 hours no food no wifi no where to sleep. Africa we can do better.’
Meanwhile, Nigeria talisman Victor Osimhen – who is not currently with the squad – also expressed his anger at the situation his team-mates found themselves in.
‘I am disappointed by the unfair treatment my brothers and coaches are facing at the Libya airport last night,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Actions like this go against the spirit of sportsmanship. My support is with my team, and I know they’ll stay strong despite these obstacles.
‘I call on CAF (Confederation of African Football) to intervene, as my teammates and officials are still stranded at the airport in Libya.
‘This is uncalled for and inhumane. We stand together, stronger than ever.’
Libya’s allegations that they faced ‘poor treatment’ during the reverse fixture last week were roundly rejected by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Libya captain Faisal Al-Badri had claimed the NFF had obstructed the potential for a seamless entry into the country.
‘We left the hotel at six in the morning, and the plane took off at nine,’ he claimed.
‘The flight took four hours, and thus we arrived in Nigeria at one in the afternoon, Libyan time
‘Our luggage was searched inside the plane for an hour, and we were also delayed in transportation from one city to another for three hours, even though we travelled on a private plane, and there was an airport close to the city we wanted to play in.
‘We later contacted the company responsible for transporting and securing the mission, but they informed us that there was no police patrol at the time, which increased the risk.
‘After a long time, three non-air-conditioned minibuses and a police car arrived, in addition to two cars from the Libyan embassy.’
But the NFF’s Assistant Director, Emmanuel Ayanbunmi had refuted this and hit back at the Libya Federation last week, claiming he was only given three hours notice of Libya’s arrival to a different airport than planned.
‘I spoke to the General Secretary of LFF, at length, on Monday, October 7 and he never hinted that his team would be arriving on Tuesday (the following day),’ he said.
‘He only said he would get back to me but he never did. On Monday evening, someone sent as an advance party by the LFF called me and said his team would be arriving on Tuesday by noon. We made all arrangements to receive the team in Uyo on arrival.
‘It was only an hour after the team was airborne that he told me the delegation would be landing in Port Harcourt. That disrupted so many things, but we still raced on hurdles to get approval from federal authorities to allow their plane to fly them to Uyo once they concluded immigration formalities in Port Harcourt.
‘Apparently, that would have meant additional cost to the LFF from the charter company, and they didn’t want that, so they preferred to travel from Port Harcourt to Uyo by road.’
Ayanbunmi also claimed that Libya ignored the NFF’s planned transportation arrangements for their opposition and instead hired buses on their own.
He added: ‘If they travelled on buses that were not air-conditioned, that had nothing to do with the NFF as they hired their own buses.
‘We provided security for them, with men and vehicles in front and behind their buses, so we are unmoved about their complaints and threats.’
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