Following a recent decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) supporting Nigeria’s Super Eagles, tensions have risen in Libya, leading to widespread arrests of Nigerians. The arrests began after CAF’s ruling awarded Nigeria three points due to Libya’s reported mishandling of the Nigerian football team upon their arrival for a qualifying match.
The Nigerian team was set to play in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya. Originally, they were supposed to land in Benghazi and travel by road to the match location. However, the team’s flight was unexpectedly rerouted to the Al-Abraq Airport in eastern Libya, where they were held for over 20 hours. In response, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) withdrew the team and filed a complaint with CAF.
CAF’s ruling, announced on October 26, upheld Nigeria’s claim. It awarded the Super Eagles three points and fined the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) $50,000. LFF President Nasser Al-Suwai’I, however, criticized the ruling, calling it “unjust.” The LFF has since announced plans to appeal, potentially taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if needed.
Following the ruling, Nigerian community leaders in Libya reported that Libyan authorities had begun detaining Nigerian citizens. Peter Omoregbie, President of the Nigerian community in Libya, confirmed the arrests in a widely shared video. Several Libyan-based Nigerians also reported increased police crackdowns and arrests.
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.
The post was accompanied by a video of a Libyan TV presenter, who said, “Anyone who is living in Libya and working without paying tax is eating haram, which means sinful money. The government should make every effort to arrest all Nigerians who are working in Libya so that they can pay a tax of $500 and regulate their stay in the country by obtaining residence permits.”
Another Libyan site, Libya INF.TV, reported that Libyan stations wanted the government to start arresting Nigerian workers.
“Those who don’t have Libyan papers will have to pay a fine of $500 for taxes. If you refuse deportation, no mercy. The Libyan government will pay the Nigerian government from their citizens’ money,” the
Libya’s human rights officials have since warned against retaliating against Nigerian nationals, with Ahmed Hamza, Chairman of Libya’s National Institution for Human Rights, cautioning against illegal actions targeting foreigners. Hamza urged Libyan media outlets to avoid portraying Nigerians as “irregular” residents, which he said could fuel further hostility.
Meanwhile, Nigerian and Libyan embassies have not commented publicly on the issue. The Nigerian government has been encouraged to address the situation, with former Nigerian ambassador Ogbole Amedu-Ode advising a formal report to the African Union. He also advised Nigerians in Libya to remain vigilant until the situation stabilizes.
“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,” Adenaike stated.
This incident highlights the challenges faced by Nigerians living in Libya, especially in periods of political and social tension. The recent CAF ruling seems to have sparked wider issues between both nations, bringing attention to the vulnerability of foreign nationals in conflict-prone regions.
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.”
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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.”
As the situation unfolds, the international community will be watching closely, hoping for a diplomatic resolution that ensures the safety and fair treatment of Nigerians in Libya.
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.”
“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.
He cautioned that unlawful actions against foreigners could lead to repercussions in domestic and even international justice.
When Sunday PUNCH contacted the Libyan Embassy in Abuja for comments, a lady who identified herself simply as Rose said she was not authorised to talk.
She said, “As you can see, I am not the media secretary. Whatever information you need, kindly put it into writing and send it to the embassy. Then, they will respond to it. Address the letter to the ambassador of the Libyan embassy.”
He said, “The Nigerian government doesn’t have hardcore evidence, and if they do, they should report Libya to the African Union. If Nigerians collate evidence of the maltreatment, the Federal Government can protest directly to the Libyan government over what Nigerians are facing.”
Amedu-Ode further advised Nigerians in the Arab country to keep low profiles until the situation was under control.
“If the atmosphere is too hot for them, they should leave Libya,” he added.
