The Federal Government on Wednesday commenced evacuation of Nigerians caught up in the ongoing war in Sudan.
Addressing the State House Correspondents on conditions of Nigerians in Sudan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and the Minister of State on Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, disclosed that 40 luxury buses were already on ground in Sudan to pick up Nigerians in the country and moved them to neighbouring Egypt, where they would be airlifted back to Nigeria.
Onyeama, who spoke on behalf of the two of them, said the evacuation efforts are being coordinated by the Nigerian embassy in Sudan and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FERMA), further disclosed that the buses conveying “our citizens were hired at $1.2 million and this also included the cost of providing security while conveying them to the Egyptian territory.”
According to him, the women and children will be given priority, including diplomats who are equally involved in the evacuation logistics.
He also disclosed that the Nigerian government was leveraging on the 72-hour ceasefire deal to evacuate as many Nigerians as possible.
He said the Saudi Arabia government had already evacuated some Nigerians through the sea to safety and that once the situation calms down arrangements will be made to move them back to Nigeria.
