Libyan authorities hold Super Eagles, officials hostage at the Al Abaq airport in Al Abaq

Nigerian players and staff have been held hostage at Al-Abaq airport by Libyan authorities.

Super Eagles players and NFF officials travelling to Libya had their travel plans derailed, as their flight was diverted away from their destination. 

The Super Eagles journeyed to the North African country for the second leg of their AFCON qualifier clash after beating the Mediterranean Knights 1-0 on home soil thanks to a Fisayo Dele Bashiru goal.

NFF official held in Libya

The team left Uyo this morning and made a brief stop in Kano. They initially planned on flying to Tripoli before a two-hour road trip to Benghazi, ten kilometres away from the location of the match, the 10,000-capacity Martyrs of Benina Stadium.

However, they changed flight plans and decided to fly straight to Benghazi to avoid the physical toll a road trip would take on the players ahead of the match on Tuesday. 

News surfacing tonight, accompanied by a clip, reveals that the Nigerian contingent had their flight, which was initially headed for Benghazi, diverted to Al Abaq, two hours away from the original destination, and they have been held at the airport.

It is unclear at the time of reporting why they have disrupted Nigeria’s travel plans and held players and officials hostage.

The match is scheduled for 8:00 pm WAT, Tuesday, October 15. Nigeria will hope to have the issue sorted as quickly as possible so they can get ample time for rest and training before D-day.