Olayomi Koiki
Following a ruling by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Disciplinary Board against the Libya Football Federation (LFF) in favour of Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), tensions have heightened within Libyan media, with several platforms calling for punitive measures against Nigerian workers in the country, according to reports.
The CAF Disciplinary Board had penalized the LFF with a $50,000 fine and awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory to Nigeria over an incident in which Nigeria’s Super Eagles team, faced prolonged detainment at Al Abraq Airport, delaying their AFCON 2025 qualifying match.
Citing the LFF’s failure to meet security and logistical obligations, CAF granted Nigeria three points in their qualification campaign.
In response, Libyan media outlets have voiced frustration, urging the government to act against undocumented Nigerian workers.
On Sunday, the Libyan blog Libya News Today 1 published a post advocating for the arrest of Nigerian workers without proper documentation, proposing a $500 fine and additional taxes from those without residence permits.
Another Libyan media outlet, Libya INF.TV, echoed these sentiments, also urging the arrest of undocumented Nigerians and suggesting that fines should be deducted from their earnings.
A Nigerian worker, Omo Oba Legba, on Wednesday, described an escalation of the situation.
“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,” Omo Oba Legba said in a video posted on Facebook.
The crackdown continued to draw reactions, with Libya INF.TV sharing a video on Thursday in which a Nigerian man pleaded with Libyan authorities, “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.”
Libyan Police could not be reached for comment.
Nigerian embassy in Libya and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commision (NiDCOM) could not be reached for comments