Following the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) verdict on Nigeria’s recent complaint, Nigerian citizens in Libya are reportedly facing mass arrests and fines.
This follows a heated dispute between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) over the treatment of Nigeria’s Super Eagles team during a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The Super Eagles were scheduled to land at Benghazi Airport before traveling by road to Benina, the host city of their qualifying match against Libya. However, just before arrival, Libyan authorities redirected the team’s flight to Al-Abraq Airport-150 miles from their destination-where they were detained for over 20 hours. Outrage over the incident led the NFF to withdraw the team and file a formal complaint with CAF.
READ ALSO: CAF awards Nigeria three points after Libya game abandonment
CAF’s disciplinary committee found the Libyan Football Federation in breach of multiple regulations and awarded the Super Eagles three points for the abandoned match. The committee imposed a $50,000 fine on the LFF, payable within 60 days. LFF President Nasser Al-Suwai’I, however, denounced the decision as “unjust and malicious,” suggesting that Nigeria’s influence within CAF swayed the outcome. He confirmed plans to appeal and, if necessary, escalate the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The CAF ruling has sparked anti-Nigerian sentiment on Libyan social media, with a widely-followed blog, Libya News Today 1, urging authorities to detain Nigerian workers lacking legal documentation.
“Libyan TV channels are urging the government to arrest Nigerian workers… They have to pay $500 plus taxes,” one post read. The blog further suggested that Libya’s fine would ultimately be extracted from Nigerian residents in the country. Another Libyan site, Libya INF.TV, reported calls for mass arrests of Nigerian workers, allegedly in response to the CAF fine.
The arrests reportedly began almost immediately. Adenaike Emmanuel, a Nigerian living in Tripoli, recounted, “They started arresting people in my area on Sunday morning.” He added that such actions were seen as “revenge” for CAF’s ruling against Libya.
Peter Omoregbie, president of the Nigerian community in Libya, confirmed the situation, explaining in a video that police officers in areas such as Tedora had started detaining Nigerians. “They are arresting innocent people. They don’t even care whether you have passports or residence permits,” he stated.
The tension continued to escalate, with Omo Oba Legba, another Nigerian, warning Nigerians to stay indoors due to the intensified arrests. “My Arab master… just called me now and told me not to go out to buy anything because they have started arresting Nigerians in Libya,” Legba said in a Facebook video.
Ahmed Hamza, chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya, cautioned security agencies against retaliatory measures targeting foreign workers. He warned that illegal actions against migrant workers could lead to serious legal repercussions, both domestically and internationally.
Efforts to reach the Libyan Embassy in Abuja and the Nigerian Embassy in Tripoli for comments went unanswered. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that a message had been sent to relevant officials but provided no further details.
A former Nigerian ambassador, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, has called on the Nigerian government to gather evidence and formally report Libya to the African Union. He also advised Nigerians in Libya to maintain low profiles or consider leaving the country if the climate becomes too hostile.
