Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has refuted claims that the country apologized to Libya for the recent detention of the Super Eagles in Benghazi.
This clarification follows a report published by The Libya Observer on Tuesday, which falsely claimed that Nigeria had apologized for the incident.
In a statement released on Wednesday by Special Assistant to the Minister on Media and Communication Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar described the report as a deliberate attempt to gain political influence and mislead football administrators and fans across Africa.
According to the minister, the publication distorted the details of a phone call between him and Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelhadi Lahweej, based in eastern Libya.
He emphasized that instead of offering an apology, the Nigerian government expressed its displeasure over the treatment of its national team and demanded an immediate solution to the problem.
“The fact is that the CDA of the Government of National Unity was summoned to the Ministry to seek an immediate end to the unfortunate incident.
“However, not much diplomatic progress was made during the meeting with the Acting Chargé d’Affaires, Imad Mohammed Matooq Aboud, as they insisted that it was not under the jurisdiction of Tripoli, which they represented, but that of the Eastern Government in Benghazi. .
“This prompted the Minister to take immediate action by contacting the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Eastern Government, Abdelhadi Lahweej, to intervene and ensure that the detention ended,” the statement said.
Tuggar explained that after this, he contacted the eastern government in Benghazi directly to intervene. Following negotiations, the necessary permits were granted allowing the Super Eagles to leave Libya and the situation calmed down.
He added, “After that, the aircraft was granted the necessary permits to fly and accessed aviation fuel. Both Ministers agreed that the matter should be de-escalated immediately. Even when Lahweej insisted on repeating the falsehood about the treatment of Libyan players in Nigeria, Emb Tuggar once again corrected the misinformation about the mistreatment of Libyan players during the match with Nigeria.”
The minister also debunked Lahweej’s false allegations about the mistreatment of Libyan players in Nigeria, correcting the record but refusing to apologize for any action as the claims were inaccurate.
He revealed that while Lahweej suggested issuing a joint statement on the matter, Nigeria rejected the proposal because it misrepresented the facts of the incident.
The PUNCH reports that the Nigerian team had flown to Libya on Sunday afternoon for the second leg of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying Group D against the Mediterranean Knights, only to be subjected to inhuman treatment upon arrival.
The Nigerian contingent was caged at the airport for more than 20 hours without food or water and completely excluded from the world.
The Confederation of African Football said it was investigating the incident.
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