The Federal Government has said all Nigerians fleeing the insurrection in Sudan but got stranded at the Egypt border have been airlifted and brought back to Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, stated this when he received another batch of Nigerian evacuees at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on Sunday.
A total of 834 Nigerian evacuees from Egypt and Port Sudan arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on Sunday, bringing to 1,471 the number of Nigerians so far evacuated and brought back to Nigeria from Egypt and Port Sudan in five days.
The first batch, comprising 282 evacuees, arrived on Wednesday night from Egypt via an Air Peace flight.
The second batch, comprising 94 evacuees, arrived on Wednesday night from Egypt via CI30; while the third batch, comprising 130 evacuees, arrived on Friday from Port Sudan via Tarco Air.
The fourth batch, comprising 131 evacuees, arrived on Saturday from Port Sudan via Tarco Air; while the fifth, sixth and seventh batches of 876 evacuees arrived Sunday from Egypt and Port Sudan via Max Air (410 evacuees), Azman Air (324); and Tarco Air (102).
According to Sani-Gwarzo, no Nigerian is left at the Egypt border, as all Nigerians at that point had been evacuated.
Sani-Gwarzo said, “I am very happy to announce that no single Nigerian is currently at the Egyptian border, we have completed the airlift from the Egyptian side.”
He stated that those in Port Sudan would all be evacuated in a few days.
“The Port Sudan side will be completed in the next few days, probably in the next 48 hours.” He noted
He said arrangements had also been put in place to evacuate the Nigerians who fled Sudan to the Ethiopian and Saudi-Arabian borders, back to the country.
