Key highlights
- Dabiri-Erewa called on all stakeholders concerned with refugees along the borders of Sudan to allow evacuations to be held smoothly.
- She added the Nigerian Mission in Egypt is trying to fix the situation.
- Nigerians who want to be part of the second batch are expected to converge at Al-Razi University and the International University of Africa.
The Nigerian Government revealed that over 7 000 nationals, including Nigerians, were not allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival on Thursday.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in a statement issued by Mr Gabriel Odu, Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NiDCOM on Friday in Abuja, published by NAN.
Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it will commence the second phase of evacuation from Sudan today.
Sudan – Egypt border
NidCOM, citing the words of its Chairman, NiDCOM, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said Nigerians and many other Nigerians were not allowed to cross into the border with Egypt, the report read:
- “Dabiri-Erewa called on those concerned with passages and movement of persons and services along the borders of Sudan to create a humane condition for them to have access to their various destinations.
- “The chairman also said the Nigerian mission in Egypt had been working on the issue, as the Egyptian authorities were insisting on visas by Africans to transit to their countries.
Dabiri-Erewa also urged Egyptian authorities to kindly allow the travellers to transit to their final destinations in various countries in Africa.
Second Batch
Meanwhile, the FG through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the second phase of evacuation to be held today, they said:
- “The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Sudan wishes to inform all Nigerian citizens who wish to be evacuated from the crisis in Sudan, that the embassy will commence the second phase of evacuation to Egypt for an Onward airlift to Nigeria, from 29th April 2023
- “All those interested are expected to converge at Al-Razi University and the International University of Africa in the morning. Individuals are required to come along with one bag and adhere strictly.
Backstory
Nairametrics reported yesterday that the Nigerian Government disclosed the first set of Nigerian students evacuated from Sudan were meant to arrive Friday.
This comes after the FG disclosed it had spent the sum of $1.2 million to evacuate Nigerian students to Egypt and airlift them to Nigeria.
Arrival
The statement read that the first batch of stranded Nigerians in Sudan have been evacuated by the Federal Government and are expected to arrive in Abuja on Friday, adding that a total of 13 out of the 40 buses hired to transport Nigerians from Sudan already left since Wednesday and moved by road to the border town of Aswan in Egypt, they added:
- “Members of staff of the embassy in Egypt and the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Mr Mustapha Habeeb-Muhammed received the evacuees.
- “10 of those buses transported Nigerians from Universities in Khartoum while the remaining three buses were dispatched to El- Razi University to convey them to the town in Egypt.
May those Nigerians that are around 7,000 in number returns to Nigeria safely. This is really a serious issue.