Reports making the rounds say Libyan authorities have embarked on a mass arrest of Nigerians living in that country following a recent verdict delivered by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award three points and three goals to Nigeria over the recent inhumane treatment meted out to the Super Eagles in the botched Afcon 2025 match that was to be played in the North African country.
According to media reports, members of the Nigerian community in Libya have variously narrated how they are being targeted for arrests and fines by authorities in the country.
Afrcanewswatch gathered that a popular Libyan news blog, Libya News Today 1, made a post on Sunday saying that all Libyan TV channels were urging the government to arrest the Nigerian workers who were working in Libya without legal papers and they would only be released upon payment of a fine of $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 wrote.
The post was accompanied by a video by 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 post said.
A Nigerian living in the capital Tripoli, Adenaike Emmanuel, reportedly said the arrests began after the CAF statement was released in the country.
“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 told a Nigerian journalist.
The President of the Nigerian community in Libya, Peter Omoregbie, who also confirmed the development in a video, said he had already lodged an official report at the Libyan immigration office.
“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,” Omoregbie 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.
“The verdict by CAF 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.”
Another Nigerian living in the country, Omo Oba Legba, also said the arrests had intensified.
In a Facebook video 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 where a Nigerian pleaded with the Libyan police to stop the indiscriminate arrests.
“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,” he pleaded.
