The Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has evacuated another batch of 205 Nigerians from Sudan in continuation of the emergency rescue of Nigerian citizens that are stranded in the war torn country back home.
The returnees comprised of 160 adults and 45 children/infants were airlifted back onboard Tarco Aviation, which arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 12:09pm and the as the returnees were received at the pilgrims wing of the airport by on behalf of the Federal Government by the Director General NEMA Mustapha Habib Ahmed in company of other officials. The returnees were evacuated from the airport in Port Sudan to Abuja.
Today’s brings the figure of Nigerians evacuated so far from Sudan to 2,865 since the commencement of the evacuation from Sudan following the break out of the crisis in April.
The Director General NEMA Mustapha Habib Ahmed, while receiving the evacuees said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring that no stranded Nigerian was left in the war-torn countries. He added that efforts were already in place to evacuate the remaining 40 Nigerians left in Sudan.
Ahmed added that so far no Nigerian has lost his or her life in the crisis-ridden country.
“We all know the crisis in Sudan has escalated seriously, no Nigerian aircraft can go to Sudan.
“We are using the Sudanese based airline, TARCO to evacuate Nigerians, they have been working with us assiduously and they had to engage the military authorities for us to be able to airlift these people.
“The most important thing is that they are home and we have not lost one Nigerian life, which is most important to us.
“205 people, including women and children were brought back today and the remaining 40 people will be brought back as we are working round the clock to bring them back,” he said.
He added that Dangote Foundation, would be giving the returnees N100,000 each to aid their transportation to their various destinations.
The DG NEMA urged the returnees to reflect on their experience in the crisis situation where they were evacuated from to support in promoting peaceful coexistence and economic development of Nigeria.
Some of the returnees spoke about their excitement with the Federal Government for evacuating them back into the country.
A student in one of the universities in Khartoum Mr Ridwan Yusuf said “I thank God, the Federal Government, NEMA and the Nigerian embassy in Sudan for what they did for us. I want to say we are happy to be back home.”
The returnees were profiled by the reception team, cleared by the Immigration Service, served with meals and given the transport supports before leaving the airport.
The Federal Government team that received the returnees included representatives of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) amongst others.
28th July 2023