Photo: Archive/Radio Nigeria
In continuation of the Federal Government’s efforts to evacuate Nigerians fleeing the crisis in Sudan, the third batch of 132 returnees have arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday.
A joint statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development said the returnees include 124 adults and 7 infants.
They arrived the country aboard the Sudanese TARCO Airline No. B737-300.
The second batch of 130 stranded Nigerians airlifted from Port Sudan arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Friday, aboard a Sudanese TARCO Airline.
According to the statement, on arrival, the returnees were provided with food and drinks and temporary accommodation for those who needed it.
The statement reads ”As part of their corporate social responsibility, the Dangote Foundation is supporting the evacuation exercise with survival kits and N100,000 as transportation fare, while MTN is providing each returnee with a SIM card credited with N25,000.00 airtime and 1.5 GB data”.
”The evacuation exercise from Port Sudan will continue until the remaining 1,500 Nigerians are brought back home safely and in dignity”.
According to the statement, two Air Peace aircrafts are on standby to join in the evacuation efforts in Port Sudan in the coming hours.
Similarly, Azman Airlines and Max Air aircrafts are already stationed in Aswan, Egypt waiting to airlift about 850 remaining evacuees from Aswan.
So far, a total number of 506 Nigerians have been successfully evacuated back home.
It reiterated the Federal Government commitment to ensuring the safe return of all affected Nigerians.
Writing by Annabel Nwachukwu