The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Fee, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has expressed sturdy disapproval of the therapy meted out to the Tremendous Eagles by Libyan authorities forward of their 2025 AFCON qualifying match.
She described the state of affairs as “despicable” and a violation of diplomatic protocols, urging instant intervention by the Nigerian authorities to make sure the protection and dignity of the gamers.
In a press release issued on Monday by NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, and shared through X (previously Twitter), Dabiri-Erewa expressed outrage over the staff’s ordeal.
The assertion, tagged “AFCON 2025 QUALIFIERS: Therapy of Tremendous Eagles gamers in Libya despicable,” highlighted the challenges the staff confronted upon arriving in Libya for his or her return leg match.
Dabiri-Erewa emphasised that the protection of the gamers was paramount, mentioning the hazards of street journey in Libya given the present unstable safety state of affairs.
“Touring by street in Libya is most harmful and inadvisable as a result of war-torn state of the nation,” she mentioned.
The Tremendous Eagles, who departed Nigeria on Sunday, had their flight unexpectedly diverted to a distant airport removed from the match venue, which led to an extra three-hour street journey to their vacation spot.
This detour, Dabiri-Erewa famous, posed pointless dangers to the gamers’ security.
“It’s unacceptable that our staff ought to endure this sort of therapy on the worldwide stage,” she added, calling for pressing motion by the Confederation of African Soccer.
“We count on CAF to handle this matter with the seriousness it deserves to stop future occurrences.”
The state of affairs worsened because the gamers, pilots, and different personnel had been stranded on the Libyan airport for over 13 hours with out entry to requirements like meals, water, or perhaps a place to relaxation.
Dabiri-Erewa famous that no ample preparations had been made by the Libyan authorities to accommodate the staff.
“The staff was delayed on the airport for greater than 13 hours with none tangible cause, and efforts by the Nigerian Soccer Federation (NFF) to make various provisions had been annoyed,” she mentioned.
Regardless of the tense state of affairs, Dabiri-Erewa appealed for calm, urging the Tremendous Eagles to stay targeted whereas the NFF and Nigerian authorities resolve on the following plan of action.
“The welfare of our gamers is our precedence, and we’re optimistic that the Ministry of Sports activities and the NFF will deal with this appropriately,” she acknowledged.
The incident has sparked widespread concern, with many calling for higher therapy of African groups throughout worldwide competitions.
“Our gamers deserve higher, and we are going to proceed to push for his or her safety and dignity wherever they compete,” Dabiri-Erewa concluded.
