‘You showed great maturity’ — sports minister receives Super Eagles at Abuja airport

John Enoh, minister of sports development, has commended the Super Eagles for their composure “in spite of the provocations” in Libya.

The Super Eagles players were held at the Al Abaq Airport since Sunday evening upon arrival in Libya for the second leg of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match, following their 1-0 victory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Friday.

After over 16 hours of delay, the team departed Libya and arrived at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano on Monday evening, and flew to Abuja.

Receiving the team at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the minister expressed his admiration for their calm response.

“The entire country is aware of all you’ve gone through. The entire country has been awake since last night praying that you come back safely. What was important to us is your safe return to the country; nothing else mattered,” Enoh said.

“Let me thank all of you for the great show of maturity in spite of what took place — in spite of the provocations.

“We’ve seen all the pictures — the manner in which you were treated and how you tried to see whether you could even find some rest in the airport. How you were stopped from even leaving the airport.

“In spite of all of that, you remained calm and mature. That is the spirit that is typically Nigerian.”

The minister also revealed that discussions had been held with officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding the situation.

“We’ve had discussions with the various levels and leaders of CAF in terms of what has happened and what took place,” he added.

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu condemned the “inhumane treatment” of the Nigerian team by Libyan authorities, while calling on CAF to take action and prevent future occurrence.

The federal government has also summoned the Libyan envoy to Nigeria over the matter.

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, confirmed the development on Monday at the State House.

Meanwhile, CAF has revealed that it has launched an investigation into the “disturbing” incident.