The Nigerian evacuees were finally evacuated home after more than a week of promises from the Federal Government, fleeing the horrific fighting in Sudan.
The Air Peace flight from Egypt’s Aswan Airport carrying around 270 Nigerian students has landed at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
A short while later, the NAF C-130H aircraft that was carrying roughly 80 people also landed.
The Nigerian evacuees were finally evacuated home after more than a week of promises from the Federal Government, fleeing the horrific fighting in Sudan.
Since April 15, Sudan has been embroiled in armed conflict, with clashes erupting in western Sudan, the capital city of Khartoum, and the Darfur region between opposing military government factions.
Since then, there have been hundreds of fatalities and countless injuries.
The Nigerian government gave worried residents evacuation plans assurances for almost two weeks before allowing buses to transport Nigerians out of Sudan with a Nigerian Air Force plane deployed for the operation.
The evacuees landed at the airport amid a strong security presence that largely consisted of Nigerian Air Force wingmen.
The National Management Emergency Agency (NEMA) Director General, Ahmed Mustapha, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouk, the Chairman/CEO of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and the students were all waiting for them at the airport.
To help them settle in, the returnees will receive N100,000 each, according to Farouk, who also said that a full press briefing on the evacuation’s problems had been arranged for later on Thursday.
The NEMA director added that four aircraft were anticipated to arrive on Thursday and would carry close to 400 people. He claims that Air Peace and Azman Air have both joined the evacuation attempt.
