The first batch of Nigerian students being evacuated from Sudan arrived at the Aswan border in Egypt on Thursday, April 27.
Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this via her Twitter handle on Thursday night.
“The first set has arrived at the Aswan border in Egypt, but the border is already closed. They will leave early in the morning and then proceed to the airport,” the tweet said.
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Similarly, National Emergency Management Agency said the first batch of Nigerians from Sudan is already at Egypt border and would be transported to Nigeria today, Friday.
Special Assistant to NEMA Director General, Idris Muhammad, on Friday on ChannelsTV’s programme, Sunrise Daily, confirmed the arrival of the first batch of Nigerians at the Egypt border.
He denied reports that Nigerians fleeing Sudan were stranded in the desert over failure to pay the transporters.
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“Honestly there is nobody stranded in the desert, and there is no news of the drivers not been paid, they are all social media reports,’’ Muhammad said.
When asked about credibility of the videos of Nigerian students stranded in the desert due to the drivers not paid, Muhammad said NEMA does not have any report of such.
He noted that about 600 Nigerian students are presently being cleared at the Egypt border for onward transportation to Abuja.
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The students had left Khartoum, the Sudan capital, by road for Aswan, early on Wednesday, April 28. They are to be airlifted from Egypt to Nigeria.
The Sudan crisis had frustrated the Nigerian government’s efforts to airlift the stranded students directly from Khartoum.
The Nigerian government, on Thursday, April 27, disclosed that the Egyptian authorities had granted landing permits to the Nigerian Airforce and airlines, including Air Peace, to evacuate the students.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
“Nigerian Mission in Egypt is liaising with the Egyptian authorities to facilitate the evacuation exercise by providing emergency entry documents and holding shelters until the stranded Nigerians are airlifted back to Nigeria.
“The Nigerian Air Force, Air Peace and other Airlines have received clearance to fly to Egypt. The NAF C-130H is scheduled to leave Abuja tomorrow, 28th April 2023, to commence the airlifting of the evacuees,” the statement read.
Thousands of foreigners, including at least 10 000 Nigerian students and over five million Sudanese of Nigerian origin, were trapped in Sudan, Northeastern Africa, a week after intense fighting between two rival forces broke out.
