Controversy continues to trail the abandoned AFCON qualifying match scheduled today between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Libya national team as the Pilot of the chartered flight that transported the Super Eagles to Libya has revealed that the authorities of the North African country forced him to divert the aircraft to an inferior airport at Al-Abraq.
The unexpected redirection of the flight to Al-Abraq, a remote airport, instead of its intended destination, Benghazi, has become a point of contention between Nigeria and Libya.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) claimed that the diversion was a deliberate act, while the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) denied any maltreatment of the Super Eagles, attributing the situation to logistical complications.
In a video, the Tunisian pilot stated that the diversion was both risky and unanticipated.
He explained that despite his efforts to convince the Libyan authorities of the risks involved, his appeals went unheeded.
“In aviation, we have our flight plan, we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach to safety,” the pilot explained.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorization, they said no, it’s from the highest authority; you have to land in Al-Abraq,” he said.
The pilot also emphasized the potential danger posed by the situation, adding, that the incident is registered in aviation, “we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from the highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq.”