Former African Best reveals what Nigeria did right during airport hostage saga in Libya

• The Super Eagles of Nigeria were held hostage for about 16 hours by Libyan authorities at Al Abraq Airport
• CAF acknowledged Nigeria's official complaint, postponed the match and launched an official investigation
• A former African Footballer of the Year has praised Nigeria for one thing they did right during the ordeal

A former African Footballer of the Year has praised Nigeria while pointing out something they did right during the Super Eagles' airport hostage ordeal in Libya.

The proposed 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers doubleheader second leg match against Libya did not take place after foul play by the North Africans ahead of the match.

Victor Boniface sits dejectedly at Al Abraq International Airport in Libya. Photo from @WTroostEkong.
Source: Twitter

CAF acknowledged the team's experience and postponed the match until a full investigation by its ethics and disciplinary board is conducted and further actions are announced.

Ikpeba applauds Nigeria's decision

Former CAF Player of the Year and Super Eagles star Victor Ikpeba has applauded Nigeria's decision to walk away from playing the match as scheduled after their ordeal.

“Shame to those who think we should have gone ahead and played this match despite the circumstances because the lives of our players do matter,” he said, as quoted by Score Nigeria.“No three points are worth our lives.”

Ikpeba had his fair share of experience with the Libyans. He had a dispute with Al-Ittihad in 2003 after the club owed him salaries and seized his international passport.

It took the personal intervention of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who gave the club a seven-day ultimatum to let him leave Libya to release him from their claws.

“CAF must clean up their act. I still wonder who approved for Libya, a war zone with two different governments, to be hosting international matches,” he added about the Super Eagles’ experience.

He featured 31 times for the Super Eagles. His heroics at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics and for Monaco in the French Ligue 1 title-winning season of 1996-97 won him the CAF Men's Player of the Year Award in 1997.

Libyan player pleads guilty

Legit.ng reported that a Libyan footballer pleaded guilty for his country for the inhumane treatment of the Super Eagles players at Al Abraq International Airport.

Besiktas star Moatasem Al-Musrati’s statement on Facebook explaining why the incident happened is an indictment of Libya that they acted in retaliation.

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Source: Legit.ng