Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has strongly condemned the poor treatment of Nigeria’s Super Eagles by Libyan authorities before their upcoming match.

The Super Eagles, who traveled to Libya on Sunday for a football match, faced unexpected difficulties when their flight was diverted to a remote airport far from the game venue. Dabiri-Erewa voiced concerns over this treatment and highlighted that it is not safe to travel by road in Libya, given the current unrest in the country.

In a statement shared by NiDCOM’s media director, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, she emphasized the importance of the players’ safety. She expressed confidence that the Ministry of Sports and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would take the right steps to address the issue.

Dabiri-Erewa urged the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to take this matter seriously and ensure such incidents don’t happen again. She also encouraged the Super Eagles to stay calm and assured them that the NFF would soon decide the next course of action.

“The implication of the diversion will now be another three hours of road travel to the main venue of the match, not minding the risk of road travel in Libya, considering the situation of the war-torn country.

“Already, the players, the pilots, and others on board the flight had been stranded and subjected to inhuman treatment at the airport for over 13 hours without water, food, rest, and other means of communication.

“The team was delayed at an airport in Libya for more than 13 hours without any tangible reason. The Super Eagles flight was redirected airborne on Sunday, and they were required to travel by road to their destination,” the statement added.