Following the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to award Nigeria’s Super Eagles three points and three goals over the inhumane treatment the team faced in Libya, reports have emerged of mass arrests and fines targeting Nigerians living in the North African country.
Adenaike Emmanuel, a Nigerian based in Tripoli, confirmed the development to Sunday Punch, stating that the arrests began on Sunday, shortly after the CAF ruling was publicized in Libya.
Emmanuel described the situation as tense, with increased targeting of Nigerians in what many believe is a reaction to the football body’s decision.
The CAF Disciplinary Committee ruled on October 26 in favour of the Super Eagles after they were detained at the Al-Abraq Airport in eastern Libya for over 20 hours while en route to the second leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya.
Originally scheduled to land at Benghazi Airport, the team was forced to divert to Al-Abraq Airport, delaying their arrival and preventing them from reaching Benina, the match location, in time.
In response to Nigeria’s official complaint, CAF found the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) in violation of Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations and Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.
Consequently, CAF awarded Nigeria three points and three goals, while imposing a $50,000 fine on the LFF, to be paid within 60 days.
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The ruling has sparked outrage among Libyan football authorities, with LFF President Nasser Al-Suwai’I describing the decision as “unjust and malicious.” Al-Suwai’I has stated that the LFF intends to file an appeal and may escalate the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if necessary.
Meanwhile, members of the Nigerian community in Libya say they are now caught in the crossfire, with many fearful for their safety.
Adenaike stated, “They have already started. The news came out on Saturday, and they were saying they can’t accept it and that they are not the ones who will pay the money. They have started proving this.
“Someone called me and said they had already begun arresting people in his area. The same thing is happening here in Tripoli. In some places, people were arrested on Sunday morning and afternoon. As I mentioned before, Libyans don’t hide their feelings. They believe that by doing this, they are getting their revenge.”
The President of the Nigerian community in Libya, Peter Omoregbie, also confirmed the arrests in a video shared by multiple Libya-based Nigerian blogs during the week.
Omoregbie, who confirmed this while making an official report at the Libyan immigration office on Monday, said, “The arrests started on Sunday night in some areas in Tedora. They are arresting innocent people. They don’t even care whether you have passports or residence permits. They just don’t care, which doesn’t happen in other countries.”
When asked to provide background to the incident, he said, “The football body is an association on its own, which the government isn’t supposed to interfere with according to CAF laws. There was a football match scheduled between Nigeria and Libya on October 15. Nigeria was supposed to arrive in Benghazi, but they were diverted to another state, so the match could not take place. The Nigerian football team then returned home. Since then, CAF has investigated the issue and set up a committee to find out what really happened.
“Yesterday, the verdict was issued that Libya has to pay a fine of $50,000 to CAF due to the way they treated the Nigerian football team. Now, on social media, Libyan journalists and numerous bloggers are saying that Nigeria will be made to pay the $50,000 fine by arresting all Nigerians in Libya. But in other countries, nothing like that happens.
“As the community leader, I received some videos showing that the arrests started last night in the Tedora area. They said the Libyan police have started arresting Nigerians, whether they have passports or not. Some of us are already afraid, calling everywhere to ask what to do. Sometimes, as community leaders, we are helpless. Even the Nigerian Embassy’s hands are sometimes tied. But international bodies need to intervene in this situation.”
Two days after Omoregbie’s report, another Nigerian in the country, Omo Oba Legba, said the arrests had intensified.
In a Facebook video posted on Wednesday, he said, “My Arab master, who is a policeman, just called me now and told me not to go out to buy anything because they have started arresting Nigerians in Libya. I asked him, ‘What about those with Libyan passports?’ But he said they aren’t considering passports and that anyone who is Nigerian will be arrested. That’s why I decided to alert our people so they know how far this issue has gone.
“The Super Eagles had what they needed to and returned. They got their money, whether they won or not. But see the problem they’ve caused for us. If Nigeria was good, we wouldn’t have come to Libya to suffer. The Nigerian team only faced a day of hardship—what about other Nigerians here who face the same treatment every day? My Arab told me that until the CAF fine is overturned, they won’t stop arresting Nigerians. Please, we appeal to the Nigerian government to come to our aid.”
Similarly, Libya INF.TV posted a video on Thursday where a Nigerian pleaded with the Libyan police to stop the indiscriminate arrests.
He said, “Football has nothing to do with us. If you want to catch them, catch them when they come here. Leave us out of this. And to the Nigerian team, I don’t know what you’re thinking, coming here to play football with the Libyan people. You don’t have sense. Please, Libyan police, please.”
