The Senate and the House of Representatives have urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to probe the ill-treatment meted out to the Super Eagles’ players and officials by the Libyan authorities in the 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya.
This is sequel to a point of order raised by Sumaila Kawu (NNPP-Kano) during plenary in a motion titled: ‘Ill-Treatment by the Libyan Authorities and Football Federation at the Al-Abraq Airport, Libya.’
The senate urged the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to bring the issue to the attention of the Libyan Government.
It urged the government to exercise restraint because the action has negative diplomatic consequences.
The Senate equally condemned the action of the Libyan authorities for the unwarranted hostilities and unfair treatment meted out to the Nigerian Super Eagles.
The senate also commended the Ministry of Sports and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for their prompt response and action by facilitating the safe return of the players, because they were no longer in the right frame of mind to go ahead with the scheduled match.
Moving the motion, Kawu, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, noted with dismay the ill-treatment meted out to a contingent of the Nigerian Super Eagles in Libya on Sunday, October 13.
He said the ignoble act was reminiscent of “clandestine conspiracy and antic, intentionally orchestrated to frustrate the visiting team in order to weaken their morale and dampen their spirits to the advantage of the host country.
“The Embassy of Nigeria in Tripoli made arrangements with the authorities in Benghazi to welcome the Nigerian delegation prior to their arrival, but their application was allegedly and outrightly rejected, as the authorities had already concluded the premeditation to frustrate our team ahead of the scheduled match.”
In his remarks, Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary, said what happened to the Super Eagles in Libya was not in tandem with the spirit of sportsmanship.
“The essence of sports is to promote unity and competition and enhance brotherhood among the countries on the continent. The way our players were treated was terrible and condemnable.
“We think this is a mistake that the Libyan authorities should be given a chance to correct and apologise to the Nigerian government.
“Nigeria is a big country in Africa. We always lead in terms of diplomacy, friendship and everything.
“We call on the ambassador and other concerned authorities to come out and apologise for what they did to our national team.”
Similarly, the House of Representatives condemned the alleged inhumane treatment of the Super Eagles and its delegation by the Libyan Football Federation/Libyan Government.
This was sequel to the adoption of a motion by Kabiru Amodu (PDP-Zamfara) at plenary yesterday in Abuja.
The House condemned the inhuman treatment, frustration of the Super Eagles and the delegation by the Libyan Football Federation/Libyan Government.
In his ruling, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, sympathised with the Super Eagles, appreciated their patriotism and mandated the Committees on Sports and Foreign Affairs to investigate the incident.