Indications show that Nigerians are in danger of getting arrested and deported out of Libya by authorities in the country following a verdict by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) which awarded three points and three goals to Nigeria at Libya’s expense.
The CAF verdict came as a result of Nigeria’s Super Eagles being stranded at Al-Abraq Airport in Libya for about 20 hours, forcing the Nigerian team to abandon the AFCON 2025 Qualifying match in mid-October and securing a return flight to Nigeria.
However, a Nigerian living in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Adenaike Emmanuel, told Sunday PUNCH that the arrests began on Sunday after the CAF statement was released in the country. “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.”
Adenaike added, “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 situation was confirmed by the President of the Nigerian community in Libya, Peter Omoregbie, 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.”
Following the CAF ruling, a popular Libyan news blog, Libya News Today 1, posted on Sunday, stating, “All Libyan TV channels are urging the government to arrest the Nigerian workers who are working here in Libya without legal papers. They have to pay $500 plus taxes.
“The fine that Libya is accused of will be paid by Nigerian citizens who live in Libya. We have been subjected to injustice. We have no borders with Nigeria. What benefit are they to us? They’re a burden on the Libyan people. They have to go back home.” The blog has more than 188,000 followers on Facebook and 57,000 likes.
Another Libyan site, Libya INF.TV, reported that Libyan stations wanted the government to start arresting Nigerian workers. In a video posted on Thursday, a Nigerian was seen pleading with the Libyan police to stop the indiscriminate arrests. “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.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya, Ahmed Hamza, has warned against retaliatory acts targeting Nigerian workers in the country in the aftermath of the CAF ruling.
According to Libya Review, Hamza noted that some media platforms were inciting hostility towards foreigners by portraying them as illegal or irregular residents. “We warn against any form of retaliation against foreign and migrant workers in Libya, especially Nigerian workers, by security forces, armed groups, or citizens,” Hamza stated.