The diversion has been a subject of controversy since Sunday when the Nigerian delegation en route to Benghazi for the crucial Tuesday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya were left stranded for over 16 hours after their flight was diverted mid-flight to Al Abraq, a small airport typically reserved for hajj operations.

In a video interview sighted by our correspondent and posted on X by Sports Journalist Pooja Media on Tuesday, the pilot emphasised that the decision was not made at his discretion but came from Libyan authorities.

“The flight plan was to land at Benghazi, Benina, and we had the approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to do so,” the pilot said.

However, when we began our descent, they instructed us to divert to Al-Abraq, which is almost 150 miles away, around 300 kilometres east. It wasn’t even (listed as) our alternate airport, something which is not good,” he added.

The pilot described the diversion as potentially risky, citing the fuel calculations made for the initial destination.

“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,” he stated, adding that he repeatedly questioned the directive.

When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq.”

Refuting claims from the media that the diversion was his decision, he said, “Everything 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 highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq,” he added.

The pilot noted that all relevant communications and authorisations are documented and could be provided as evidence if needed.

He said, “The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.”

Describing the conditions at Al-Abraq, the pilot highlighted the challenges of landing at what he referred to as a poorly equipped domestic airport.

“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather,” he said, adding that the airport’s lack of facilities left them with “no second chances” if the landing had gone wrong.

The pilot’s familiarity with the region, having worked there for two years with a Tunisian company, was crucial in managing the difficult landing.

It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to pull the Super Eagles out of qualifier match against Libya.

“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer, and NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home,” the statement said.

War-torn Libya has become a key departure point on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from other parts of Africa, risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe.

AFP reports that Libya’s rival administrations last year agreed on a Tripoli-based anti-immigration body tasked with coordinating deportations of foreigners who are in the country illegally.

“We carried out on Tuesday the expulsion of 163 irregular migrants of Nigerian nationality from the Mitiga airport, including 107 women, 51 men and five children,” Libya migration agency’s head of security, Mohamad Baredaa, told AFP.

In a move coordinated with the IOM, Baredaa added that “160 Nigerians will be sent back to their country from Benina airport in Benghazi” later on Tuesday.

An AFP correspondent saw the first group at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport early Tuesday, where they were given a laissez-passer before boarding shuttles to the plane.

According to the IOM, there are more than 700,000 migrants in Libya.

As foreign countries like the United Kingdom tighten their immigration policies, many Nigerians are still racing to leave the country following the wave of “Japa” and as economic conditions continue to worsen amid naira devaluation.

The Charge D’Affaires En Titre, Ambassador Kabiru Musa, confirmed this development in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ambassador Musa emphasized that the released individuals would receive ongoing support from the Nigerian Mission until they could be safely repatriated.

He took the opportunity to counsel them against undertaking such dangerous journeys again and urged them to warn their fellow compatriots about the perils of irregular migration.

“On June 27, 2023, the mission continued its consular assistance to Nigerians in Libya by securing the release of forty irregular migrants who had been arrested and detained by Libyan immigration authorities for nearly two months due to immigration offenses. Among these individuals were 34 females and six males who had been held at the Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility, located approximately 150 miles away from Tripoli, the capital city.

“It was discovered that most of them had been deceived by their traffickers, who promised them better opportunities in Libya, only to subject them to exploitation and forced labor upon their arrival.

“Upon their arrival at the embassy, we received them and urged them to return home, pledging never to undertake such a dangerous journey through the desert again. I also encouraged them to consider the embassy as their home and provide information about their traffickers and agents in Nigeria and Libya, enabling their arrest and punishment for their crimes against humanity.

“In the meantime, the mission will continue to provide for their immediate needs, including food, accommodation, clothing, and medical assistance, until they can be repatriated home through the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” Ambassador Musa stated.

The Nigerian government, recognizing Libya as a transit route for human trafficking, has been actively collaborating with the IOM and Libyan authorities to combat the issue of irregular migration.

The government has also vowed to ensure that none of its citizens remain stranded in Libya and has carried out numerous evacuation operations in partnership with the IOM to repatriate stranded Nigerians.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) disclosed this in its Oil Market Report for September 2022 releases on Tuesday September 13 in Lagos.

The report revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production for August averaged 1.100 million barrels per day which was 65,000mb/d lower than the 1.164mb/d produced averagely in July.

While Angola was Africa’s highest crude oil producer for the month under review with an average production of 1.187mb/d.

Libya’s crude oil production averaged also 1.123mb/d for the period.

The report said: “According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 29.65 mb/d in August, higher by 618,000 month-on-month.Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya and Saudi Arabia, while production in Nigeria declined”

Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 3.5 percent year-on-year this year following growth of 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

“On a quarterly basis, the GDP shrank by 0.37 percent following a 14.66 percent contraction in the previous quarter.Nevertheless, the annual inflation rate surged to the highest since September 2005, climbing to 19.6 percent y-o-y in July from 18.6 percent in June.This was a result of the weakening naira due to continued high imported input costs as well as soaring fuel prices. Moreover, food inflation increased to 22 per cent y-o-y, the highest since May 2021,”  the report added.

The Acting Coordinator of the Lagos Territorial Office of NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.

Farinloye said the returnees who were stranded in Libya, departed Mitiga International Airport, Tripoli, aboard a chartered Buraq Aircraft at 10.00 pm local time and arrived at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday, at 2.10 am Nigerian time.

He said “The returnees were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration through voluntary repatriation programme for the distressed persons. They had left the country to seek greener pasture in various European countries but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated. The International Organisation for Migration since 2017 had assisted to bring about 21,000 distressed Nigerians back to the country,”

He said the returnees were 98 adult females, 28 adult males, 19 female children and five male children, nine female infants and three male infants.

Farinloye said five of the returnees had various health-related issues.

He said the Port Health Unit of the Federal Ministry of Health, National Commission for Resilience, Migration and IDPs and the Nigerian Immigration Services were part of the government agencies who received the returnees at the airport

The distressed and stranded Nigerians were among the Voluntary Returnees who were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the support of European Union (EU) as a special intervention were received at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Cargo Wing on arrival by Ibrahim Farinloye, the Acting Coordinator of NEMA Lagos Territorial Office on behalf of Director-General of NEMA, Engr Mustapha Maihajja.

After profiling, the 38 adult females, five female children were brought back while 109 adult males, six male children and 10 infants were among the new Returnees.

An inter-agency discussion about imposing travel restrictions on countries that are not compliant with electronic documents and information sharing — a key focus of the administration — is underway, according to a senior administration official. Fewer than five countries are under consideration, the official said.

The goal, the official said, is to “bring governments into compliance by using the power of access to the United States.” The travel restrictions would be tailored to the countries, if they’re added, and not impose a ban on them altogether, the official noted.

The administration has argued that the travel ban is vital to national security and ensures countries are in compliance with security measures. But critics say the restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s executive order are an attempt to ban Muslims from entering the United States. It’s unclear which countries are currently under consideration and if they are majority Muslim.

In 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the third version of the travel ban after previous bans ricocheted through the courts. The ban restricts entry from seven countries to varying degrees: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, along with Venezuela and North Korea. Chad was removed from the list last April, after the White House said the country improved security measures.

The third iteration of the travel ban directs the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with other federal agencies, to assess the list of countries on an ongoing basis and provide a report to the President.

He expressed really deep concern in a report to the Security Council that circulated on Friday that current military operations in Libya are reportedly “being reinforced by the transfer of arms into the country, including by sea.”

Antonio Guterres was reporting very specifically on the implementation of a resolution last June that authorizes the European Union’s maritime force to enforce the arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya.

And he noted that European Union countries in March had extended the mandate of the naval mission, but also took the abnormal step of barring its operation by refusing to allow it to deploy any ships.

The UN also says that other civilians were cut off from emergency services as they were trapped by the crisis.

With aim of wrestling Tripoli from Libya’s UN-backed government, an attack was initiated by Gen Khalifa’s troops on Thursday last week.

Gen Haftar was accused by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj of attempting a coup and promised Gen Haftar that his troops will be met with force.

Including soldiers and civilians, at least 25 people had lost their lives on Monday and 80 in critical health conditions according to the ministry of public health. Recent reports had given an increased figure.

Gen Haftar’s forces, meanwhile, say they have lost at least 14 fighters.

Fighting continued although the UN requested for a two-hour truce so that civilians and wounded victims could be evacuated.

And responding to the situation in Libya, the EU and other countries not excluding the US and Russia have asked the hostilities to end.

Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State said, “This unilateral military campaign against Tripoli is endangering civilians and undermining prospects for a better future for all Libyans.”

And amid the aggravating security situation in Libya, personnels are being evacuated by International powers.

Since Gadaffi was deposed and killed in 2011, Libya has been in chaos as a result of violence and political instability.

Although unclear if that will still take place, talks have been scheduled by the UN for 14-16 April to discuss the road map for new elections.