The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has condemned the inhuman treatment of Nigerian players in Libya.
Enoh, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said the Federal Government would get to the root of the matter.
The minister explained that the Nigerian government would not take the matter lightly, arguing that his counterpart in the Ministry 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.
‘Deliberate’
Players and officials were stranded for hours at a Libyan airport on Sunday and denied access to food and the internet as they prepared to honour their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier with the Mediterranean Knights.
It took diplomatic efforts and social media callouts for the team to be cleared to finally leave Libya.
But Enoh also accused the Libyan Football Federation of deliberately mistreating the Super Eagles in the North African country.
“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.
While dismissing allegations by the Libyan side that their players were badly treated during their first encounter 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.”
