The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was forced to pull the senior national team out of the AFCON qualifying match following the dehumanising treatment the players and officials were exposed to after the chartered plane that flew the contingent to Libya was forcefully diverted away from Benghazi.
Patrick Pascal, a former international and Coordinator of the Super Eagles, has said the Nigeria delegation to Libya for the return leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) saw hell when they were left stranded without care for 20 hours.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was forced to pull the senior national team out of the AFCON qualifying match following the dehumanising treatment the players and officials were exposed to after the chartered plane that flew the contingent to Libya was forcefully diverted away from Benghazi.
Reports have it that the team was literally held hostage by the Libyan authorities and the Football Federation who denied them food and access to Internet services for 20 hours.
The ill treatment of the three time African champions who unanimously agreed to boycott the match even before the federal government decided they should be returned home has attracted global condemnation with many calling on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to sanction Libya for endangering the lives of the Nigerian delegation.
Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, the senior national team Coordinator who doubles as Chairman of Bauchi State Football Association said “We all went through hell in Libya. We were between life and death. First, by diverting our plane when we were about to land, they wanted to terminate our lives because anything could have happened.
“After we landed safely due to the grace of God and the expertise of the pilot, they held us hostage inside the substandard airport and denied us access to food, water and essential things of life. For close to a day, we were in hell on earth.
“Some are saying it was a case of tit-for-tat but it is far from it. We didn’t treat them badly when they came to Nigeria. Instead, they created artificial issues just to prepare grounds for their wicked act,” said Pascal.
He also said to preserve his life, he won’t travel again with the team to Libya even if CAF orders that the match should be played as earlier arranged.
“Going by what I saw with my eyes, nothing will make me step on Libyan soil that I am coordinating the Super Eagles. I don’t even think anyone will accept to go back after the narrow escape in the hands of those people,” said Pascal.