The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has said that the Egyptian border is not yet open to ensure the rescue of the stranded Nigerians from Sudan.
Three Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft have been mobilised to Sudan by the Nigerian government to evacuate its stranded citizens who are currently at the Egyptian border.
“NAF C 130 prepares to depart to Egypt to evacuate Nigerian Nationals stranded in Sudan,” NIDCOM had tweeted.
“They are going with a lot of dry food, water, medications, etc. Our prayers are with them.”
The popular Nigerian airline, Air Peace is also on ground to complement the effort of the federal government.
A source revealed that: “The plane landed a few hours ago at Aswan. The first set of evacuees will depart today.”
The Informant247 earlier reported that the Nigerian government had vowed to evacuate its stranded citizens from the war torn zone.
It was gathered that the Egyptian government did not agree to allowing Nigerians into their country despite persuasion.
The Nigerian government is doing everything possible to ensure that her citizens are allowed into Egypt where they will be transported home by air.
It was also gathered that Nigerian citizens who left the Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum on Wednesday were reportedly roaming aimlessly at the border between Sudan and Egypt.
“We have been here for four days now, no food, no water. The government should come to our rescue”, says one of the affected Nigerians.
NIDCOM in a Twitter post on Monday May 1, 2023 said the Egyptian border was still closed, and the stranded students had not got entry to Egypt.
“We will not leave without our students,” NIDCOM quoted NAF.
FG plans to evacuate Nigerian students in Sudan amid violent clashes
The federal government has announced its readiness to evacuate Nigerian citizens from Sudan following a clash between Sudan’s soldiers and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
This was revealed by the chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa who said the federal government was still making consultations with concerned stakeholders to ensure easy evacuation of its citizens from Sudan.
The Informant247 gathered that the violence has taken lives of over 270 persons.
The violent clash has made thousands of civilians moved to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
The Informant247 learned that foreign countries are considering the evacuation of their nationals as the crisis was running to the sixth day.
Dabiri-Erewa said she has taken note of the concern of Nigerian students who are living in Sudan.
She added that her Commission has gotten “the letter of solocitation” from the National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan to ensure the evacuation of students in the foreign African country especially those living the capital city, Khartoum.
She implored Nigerian students residing in Sudan to be conscious of their safety and security.