Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has denied ever making any apology to his Libyan counterpart over the ill-treatment that the Libyans inflicted on members of the Nigerian football team who had arrived in Libya on Sunday for a scheduled Africa Cup of Nations match on Tuesday.

Apart from dangerously diverting the already descending Nigerian aircraft to a different airport from the intending one, the Nigerian team was held hostage without the necessity of life for 16 gruelling hours.

But in a twist, Tripoli-based Libya Observer published that the Nigerian foreign affairs minister, Tuggar had apologised for the action of the Super Eagles not to honour the scheduled match.

In a press statement signed by Alkasim Abdulkadir, a Special Assistant on Media and Communication Strategy to the minister, Tuggar denied ever making any apology.

Rather, the Libya Observer report is an erroneous one planned to “gain political leverage and cause disaffection amongst continental football administrators and fans.”

It is more of a propaganda. The Nigerian minister said the publication misrepresents the phone correspondence between him and the East-based Government’s Foreign Minister of Libya.

“The fact of the matter was that the Charge d’affairs of the Government of National Unity was summoned to the Ministry to seek an immediate end to the unfortunate incident.

“However, not much diplomatic headway was made during the meeting with the Acting Charge of Affairs, Imad Mohammed Matooq Aboud, as they insisted that it was not under the jurisdiction of Tripoli, which they represented, but that of the Eastern Government in Benghazi.

“This prompted the Minister to take immediate action by contacting the Foreign Minister of the Eastern Government, Abdelhadi Lahweej, to intervene and ensure that the detention ended.

“After that, the aircraft was given the necessary permits to fly, and aviation fuel was accessed.

“Both Ministers agreed that the matter should be de-escalated immediately. Even when Lahweej insisted on rehashing the untruth about the treatment of Libyan players in Nigeria, Amb Tuggar once again corrected the misinformation about the mistreatment of Libyan players during the Nigerian encounter.

“He did not apologise or regret the treatment of Libyan officials and players because the account was inaccurate.

“Lahweej proposed a joint statement, which the Ministry rejected because it erroneously misrepresented the facts of the incident.

“Above all, the Federal Government of Nigeria only shares a diplomatic relationship with the government of the National Accord and not with the Eastern government.

“Nigeria remains unequivocal in expressing its displeasure and disappointment with how the Nigerian Football Federation officials were treated in Libya.

“It calls on the Confederation of African Football to urgently ensure that its Disciplinary Board investigates the matter and imposes appropriate sanctions based on its statutes. “

A newspaper in Libya, Libya Observer has reported that the Nigerian government has apologised to Libya over the botched Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match which could have been held on Tuesday evening.

The publication has it that “in a recent phone call with the east-based government Foreign Minister Abdelhadi Al-Huwaij, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar extended an official apology to the Libyan government and its people for a recent incident involving the Libyan national football team.”

The publication is illustrated with a photograph of the Nigerian minister holding a mobile telephone to his right ear.

According to Libya Observer, “the apology followed growing tensions after a controversial decision by Nigeria’s Football Federation to refuse participation in a scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier return match.”

It further reported that the Libyan Foreign Ministry claimed that the Nigerian Foreign Minister Tuggar “expressed deep regret, clarifying that the incident was neither intentional nor a deliberate act by the Nigerian government.

“He emphasized Nigeria’s respect for Libya and its people, assuring that the matter was an unfortunate oversight.

The report further claimed that in response, the Libyan minister, Al-Huwaij “reassured his Nigerian counterpart that Libya had ensured the well-being of the Nigerian delegation, providing full logistical and technical support to facilitate their safe return home.

“He also highlighted the longstanding and strong ties between the two nations, underscoring their commitment to maintaining friendly relations.

The Libyan Football Federation had earlier condemned the actions of the Nigerian Football Federation, accusing it of refusing to participate in the return leg of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Libya Observer reported that Libya’s football authorities have vowed to take all necessary steps to safeguard the interests of their national team in response to the incident.

But another Tripoli-based publication, Libyan Express, highlighted that the Libyan team to a lesser extent also experienced problems travelling to Nigeria and concluded: “It also emphasises the need for clear communication and mutual respect between participating nations to ensure fair play and the well-being of all athletes.”

A newspaper in Libya, Almashhad has reported that the African Union officials have contacted Libyan and Nigerian authorities after being notified that the Nigerian football team and officials were stuck at an airport to which they had been directed by authorities in Libya.

Now, a nine-man Disciplinary Board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is currently investigating all circumstances before acting against parties proven to have violated CAF’s regulations and laws