Libya threatens ValueJet pilot with legal action for ‘not supporting fellow North Africans’

By Tosin Omojola

Libya’s CAF Executive Committee member, Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, expressed disappointment over the testimony of the pilot who flew the ValueJet aircraft that transported the Nigerian delegation to the controversial Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in early October.

Captain Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian pilot and Acting Head of Flight Operations at ValueJet, was a key witness for Nigeria at the hearing.

Al-Shalmani, though not an aviation expert, described Merchergui’s testimony as “false and slanderous,” claiming the pilot’s statements favored Nigeria’s interests “instead of respecting the diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries of Libya and Tunisia.”

Al-Shalmani threatened legal action against Merchergui, stating that an official memorandum of complaint would be filed against the Tunisian pilot for “violating the rules of integrity and honesty.”

He further claimed that Nigeria leveraged the popularity of its well-known players to gain global support for the Super Eagles.

According to the Libyan publication Libya Akhbar, Al-Shalmani accused the Nigerian team of using the fame of its professional players in international leagues to create the impression that they were victims of Libyan hostility.

Al-Shalmani condemned this approach, asserting that the reality is far from what Nigeria portrayed. He stated, “What the Nigerians are trying to present as injustice on our part is, in fact, an attempt to cover up the truth, as the testimony provided was completely false.”