First batch of Nigerian evacuees arrive Abuja, as FG denies discrimination allegation by Igbo residents in Sudan

Federal Government has confirmed that the first batch of Nigerian evacuees from Sudan has arrived in Abuja via the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130H transport aircraft, with the actual total figure yet to be ascertained.

This is just as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports from a viral video showing some Igbo residents in Sudan alleging discrimination by Nigerian authorities in the evacuation of citizens.

The NAF C-130H jet had about 80 evacuees onboard.

Some of the evacuees also arrived via Air Peace wide body B777 aircraft, same Wednesday night. The Air Peace plane was carrying over 270 Nigerian students from the Aswan Airport in Egypt.

The evacuees arrived the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja in Lagos, late Wednesday night.

However, while the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) put the number at 376 evacuees, other outlets claimed the number could be 364.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouk; the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and the Director General of the National Management Emergency Agency (NEMA), Ahmed Mustapha, were at the airport to receive the students.

Farouk said the returnees would be given N100,000 each to enable them settle in, adding that a full press briefing on the issues surrounding the evacuation had been scheduled for later on Thursday.

The NEMA boss also noted that four aircraft were expected to arrive on Thursday, adding that they would convey almost 400 persons.

The evacuees were expected back in the country via airlift services provided by civil aviation firms; Air Peace and Azman Air, as well as an NAF transport plane, late Tuesday, after clearance was obtained by the Nigerian government from the Egypt aviation authorities.

The operation is coordinated by NIDCOM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).

Other members include; the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Office of the Chief of Staff, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Nigerian Air Force (NAF), as well as, the various Nigerian Foreign Missions relevant to the evacuation exercise.

On Tuesday, the Nigerian government confirmed that stranded Nigerians have  been successfully moved to the Egypt and are now awaiting airlift to Abuja via a transport plane of the Nigerian Air Force to be complemented  by two civil aviation operators; Air Peace and Azman Air.

A series of tweets via the Twitter handles of NIDCOM and its chairman and CEO, Mrs Abika Dabiri-Erewa, Tuesday night, confirmed that the arrival of the stranded Nigerians conveyed from Sudan by the 13 buses chartered by the Nigerian government. The evacuees had started arriving at the border since last Friday but were stranded at he Egyptian border following visa issues, which were resolved by Monday, allowing Nigerians to cross into the North African country.

“Evacuation Update: Nigerian Ambassador in Egypt has successfully moved evacuees from the Sudanese side to the Egyptian side of the Arqeel students across the border.

“The students are now being prepared for their departure to Abuja through Aswan Airport..

“With the arrival of AirPeace and the NAF Plane, the onward journey home begins soon after the necessary documentation,” NIDCOM tweeted, Tuesday.

“Sudan update: Nig Embassy in Egypt has moved all evacuees from the Sudan side to the Egypt side of the Arqeel border, with priority given to the females

“They are now being prepared for their departure to Abuja through Aswan Airport. @flyairpeace has just landed begins,” Abike-Dabiri, tweeted, Tuesday night.

Dabiri-Erewa further added that the team at Abu Simbel would be evacuating the Wadi Halfa group on Wednesday morning and those at the Port Sudan border, the third group, would be evacuated last because they had just arrived on Tuesday.

“The first batch of Nigerians who fled war-torn Sudan arrived via military jet C13 at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 2340HRS with an estimate of 376 evacuees,” NIDCOM confirmed in a tweet, Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described as ‘not true’ allegations made by Igbo speaking Nigerians resident in Sudan alleging discrimination in the evacuation from the war-torn country by Nigerian officials.  

“The Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum confirmed that evacuees of Igbo extraction were among the first batch of 637 Nigerians evacuated to Aswan Border, Egypt where they are presently awaiting their eventual return to Nigeria.

“In addition, the Embassy noted that before the commencement of the movement of buses deployed for the evacuation exercise in Khartoum, there were scuffles between the students and other Nigerian residents due to the limited number of buses.

“However, more buses were made available to accommodate every Nigerian national in Sudan who indicated interest to be evacuated,” the ministry said, Wednesday.

It would be recalled that, Igbo-speaking Nigerian residents in war-stricken Sudan, Tuesday, alleged discrimination in the evacuation plans by the Nigerian government to extract stranded citizens out of the country to Egypt ahead of airlift to Abuja by the Nigerian Air force, Air Peace and Azman Air.

A viral video showing an unidentified man, speaking in Igbo, narrating his ordeal along with his equally stranded mates, claimed they were ejected from the rescue buses chartered by the Nigerian government to transport them to the Egyptian border for airlift to Nigeria.

He said: “We are here in the University of Khartoum, they are doing evacuation project, evacuation of stranded Nigerians. They came and carried those they carried and left us that are Igbos. When we entered evacuation vehicle three days ago, we were asked to come down. Everything has entered into politics.

“We are being our people who could help us. Our brother Allen Onyeama of Air Peace brought out planes that will carry people from Egypt to home. He is there doing everything to ensure that things went well but I want to inform him and other Nigerians that things are not going well. See where they left Igbos to die while the news going on in Nigeria is that we have been evacuated. See us and our bags where they left us in Sudan. We have not been evacuated oh!

“We are calling wealthy Igbo men like Arthur Eze, people who are known for helping people to come to aide,” the middle-aged man lamented in Igbo while speaking in the video.

The video generated heated arguments with official so of the NIDCOM and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yet to react to it as at time of filing this report. 

Some respondents like rights activist, Abu Rayyan posting via his Twitter handle (Abdulrahmanleme) described the development as ‘pathetic,’ as he wondered if NIDCOM chairman, Abike Dabiri could connive with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama to abandon his (minister’s) kinsmen in Sudan.

“So she will connive with the Minister of Foreign Affairs who is Ndigbo to abandon his kinsmen? You people have lost it tey tey, very pathetic to watch,” posted Abu Rayyan (@Abdulrahmanleme), Tuesday night.

Also, reacting to the incident, Mr Aloy Ejimakor, a legal counsel to the leader of the pro-secession group in the South East region, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, remarked that it is ‘very tough being Igbo in Nigeria.’

“Igbo has tried too hard to be Nigerian but Nigeria has tried too hard to frustrate it. Indeed, it’s very tough being Igbo in Nigeria, hence the #agitation,” said Aloy Ejimakor, Tuesday.

Similarly, @PIDOMNIGERIA wrote: “Abike Dabiri is a tribal bigot. I pity Geoffrey Onyeama, who is just a ceremonial foreign Affairs minister. Man is too weak for my liking.

“He cannot stand his grounds to take some critical actions. Just imagine how they sidelined & abandoned Igbo’s intentionally in Sudan to die.”

Interestingly, the NIDCOM had come under fire, last week, after she had directed Nigerian evacuees that passengers in the chartered buses heading to the Egypt border should be seated or arranged according to their states of origin.