The Federal Government had on Friday called on relevant authorities along contiguous borders of Sudan to create a humane condition for about 7,000 nationals, including Nigerians, to have unfettered access to their various destinations.

Dabiri-Erewa, who made this call, said the nationals were not being allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival on Thursday evening.

However, giving updates on the stranded Nigerians at the Egypt border, Dabiri-Erewa said, “The mission has made arrangements to pay nine dollars per person and 25 dollars visa fees. Within Egypt itself, one cannot travel from one region to another without an exit permit. We are expecting a CI30 to take off within the hour. NAF is getting set to depart with food etc for Aswan.”

Meanwhile some state governments on Saturday evacuated their indigenes or those sponsored by them.

Borno, Jigawa and Kaduna came for their indigenes.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah, confirmed, saying, “Yes, Kaduna State and Jigawa State governments evacuated their students today.”

Another student, Abdullah Anyuabuga, said, “Kaduna government moved their students and left today.”

However, those who were not evacuated expressed disappointment, as the ceasefire ends Sunday.

The Embassy of Nigeria in Sudan on Friday said the second batch of the evacuation of stranded Nigerians in Khartoum to Egypt would commence on Saturday. This was contained in a statement signed by the Charge d’ Affairs, H. Y. Garko.

Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, the President of the Association of Yoruba Student Union in Sudan, Mubarak Ahmed, said the embassy officials claim that they were waiting for an alert as there was no money available, adding that the students had convened at the university earlier in the day and waited for a resolution to their plight which proved abortive.

Ahmed added, “We have been here since 5am. We are tired of sitting in the bus, since morning. Up till now, the buses did not move. The drivers claimed that they have not been paid.

“The embassy officials are saying there is no money, They are waiting for the alert. We converged here this morning at El-razi University in Azhari, Khartoum.”

Also, the President of the Nasarawa State Students Association in Sudan, Al-Ameen Ahmad, stated, “We are tired of this situation. We were very happy when we saw these buses. Every morning, we were all seated in the bus but after some hours, we came down. We had enough buses stationed at various universities but the drivers refused to move because they claimed they had not been paid. The Nigerian government is playing with this ceasefire. By Sunday, it would be over. I wonder what will become of some of us here.”

Dabiri-Erewa, who confirmed the development in a post on Twitter, said the border was already closed when the students got there, adding that they would proceed to the airport in the morning.

“The first set has arrived at the Aswan border in Egypt but the border is already closed. They will leave early in the morning and then proceed to the airport,” the tweet read read partly.

This was as the Federal Government on Thursday said that the Nigerian Air Force, Air Peace and other airlines had received clearance to fly to Egypt to pick up stranded Nigerians.

This was contained in a joint press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on the evacuation of Nigerians caught up in the on-going crisis in Sudan.

The statement said, “Nigerian Mission in Egypt is liaising with the Egyptian authorities to facilitate the evacuation exercise, by providing emergency entry documents and holding shelters, until the stranded Nigerian are airlifted back to Nigeria.

“The Nigerian Air Force, Air Peace and other Airlines have received clearance to fly to Egypt. The NAF C-130H is scheduled to leave Abuja tomorrow, 28th April, 2023 to commence the airlifting of the evacuees.”

the evacuation process for Nigerians trapped in Sudan amid insurrection in the country has not been without hiccups.

Despite the end of the ceasefire by the warring Sudanese forces, the stranded Nigerians, especially students, said the embassy had not provided any buses for evacuation on Thursday.

The PUNCH gathered that embassy officials were not on the ground to explain to stranded Nigerians why no buses were available to evacuate them.

It was also learnt that an official of the embassy, who entered the International University of Africa, was almost beaten to death by angry students.

The PUNCH reports that the evacuation of 2,400 students and other Nigerians trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan took off on a slow start on Wednesday as only 15 out of the 40 buses required for the exercise were provided.

Although the Federal Government hired 40 buses for the repatriation of the citizens from Khartoum and other cities to Egypt, only 10 buses were available as of Wednesday morning, while additional five buses were provided later in the day (Wednesday).

Dabiri-Erewa, while speaking earlier on Thursday morning on Channels TV, said the journey of the evacuated Nigerians was progressing, adding that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was doing everything possible to see that Nigerians in Sudan got evacuated.

Dabiri-Erewa said “The journey is almost 28 hours if it is a straight journey but in this case, the evacuated Nigerians stopped somewhere and all that. So, we are hoping that they will get to Aswan later this (Thursday) evening. We are monitoring. Thirteen buses left Khartoum from two universities yesterday (Wednesday). Missions and officials are at Aswan to recieve them.

“Another set of buses hopefully would be released. Funds have been released for them because the drivers want to collect cash before they release the next set of buses. So, everything is being done by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to ensure that it is done. Cheering news is that no lives have been lost and our students are progressing to their destination in Aswan.”

She added that the missions were working together to ensure that Nigerian students were protected.

Dabiri-Erewa also noted that pressure was mounting as the 72-hour ceasefire was elapsing.

However, speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, some of the trapped students expressed the fear that as the three-day ceasefire declared by the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Force expired on Thursday, buses were not available to convey them.

Accusing the Nigerian embassy of corrupt practices, a student of the International University of Africa, Abdullah Zakari, said “The Federal Government has done their part. It is this embassy that are messing up things here. They are very corrupt. Since morning, no buses made available. We are very hungry; no food, no water.”

The Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah, stated that, “People are hungry and there is no concrete information from either the embassy or the committee in charge of the buses.

People are sitting outside under high temperature. The temperature is very high that people are thirsty. Nowhere to find water to drink nor buy food to eat.

“In the next two to three days, if nothing is done to address this situation, Nigerian students might start dying.”

In a video sighted by our correspondent, a student was seen crying and saying, “Because your family, children, and nephews are on the bus, that is why we are left behind. We are afraid. We do not have water and food. These soldiers, their barracks are very close to us here. There have been gunshots since last night. No one is here for us.”

One of the coordinators from the bus company explained that, “Six buses were being arranged for day two evacuation. We were told the money would be sent to our Sudanese bank account and today is the second day of the evacuation, we are yet to receive any money. That is why we stopped the deployment of these buses for evacuation.”

The President of the Jigawa State Students Association in Sudan, Umar Abubakar, said he had been out since 5am waiting for a bus to evacuate them.

Abubakar said, “We are disappointed in everything. We are outside under the sun since 5am waiting for the buses, not even one official from embassy is around. Those people are just playing us along.”

He added that those who were evacuated from Khartoum to Egypt had been stranded since Wednesday at a border between Sudan and Egypt.

Abubakar said, “Even those that left for Egypt yesterday are now stranded on their way, because the drivers said they have not been paid and that they are not moving an inch until they are paid, or else they will drop the students there and return.”

Confirming this, a student of Noble College in Sudan, Idris Wakama, said “The drivers dropped our students in the middle of the desert. We do not know what is happening. They collected $100 from some of our students in the buses. The Federal Government needs to address the situation quickly.”

In a video obtained by our correspondent, female students was seen yelling: “Before we started this journey, we fought and now that we have the privilege of moving, the drivers dropped us in the middle of this desert. We have been stuck here for five hours.

“We do not have money nor water. We are in an unknown environment and it is very dangerous.”

However, our correspondent learnt that the drivers later continued the journey.

The drivers collected the students’ passports as collateral, only to be returned to them when they get paid at the border of Egypt.

In another video obtained by our correspondent, a parent was heard instructing other parents whose wards or children are schooling in Sudan to take responsibility and rescue their children from Sudan instead of waiting for the Federal Government or the embassy.

The parent said, “We have waited for the government and the embassy is not doing anything. At this point, we are taking responsibility and we are going to take action.

“Students, please write the number of students per bus and give us the cost. If we can afford it, we will send some money to a dollar vendor in Cairo. We will alert the Nigerian government that  we are paying our children’s trip and they are coming to Cairo. Please parents, let us take action now.”

But the spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, Ezekiel Manzo, told our correspondent that the issue with the drivers that stopped on the way to Aswan had been sorted, adding that some buses were made available for students to be evacuated Thursday.

Manzo said, “Whatever little crisis that happened on the way has been cleared and the buses have continued their journey to Aswan, Egypt.

“Some three buses arrived at Khartoum a few minutes ago. We must understand that we are evacuating people from crisis-inflicting areas and these buses, some of them are coming from Egypt, along distance to Khartoum.

“We understand that the students are agitated but on our part, we are doing our best. We are not resting to make sure that they are taken out of the crisis zone.

“Be rest assured that the first batch of evacuees are on their way to Aswan. The aircraft has been prepositioned for take off any moment they arrive at Aswan.”

Confirming his statement on buses made available, The Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah, said “As I am talking to you, there was no evacuation today. It is very unfortunate. Only Jigawa State that paid for its students to be evacuated. Though, they will be leaving tomorrow. It is late already. ”

To facilitate the repatriation, the government has released N150m  for hiring 40 buses to convey its desperate citizens from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt.

The money was paid to an undisclosed transport company on Tuesday at 12:37 pm by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the National Emergency Management Agency.

The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed on Tuesday that the payment had been made, noting that the evacuees would take off on Wednesday morning.

The evacuation is taking place against the backdrop of the three-day ceasefire starting midnight Tuesday declared by the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Force.

Foreign countries are taking advantage of the temporary suspension of hostilities to move their nationals from Sudan as deadly fighting between the two forces entered the second week.

The clashes broke out between erstwhile allies, General Abdel al-Burha,  who heads the Sudanese Armed Forces and leader of the RSF paramilitary group,  General Mohamed Dagalo, over a power-sharing disagreement.

The conflict had so far claimed about 500 lives with thousands of others injured and millions displaced.

Foreigners are also fleeing the capital Khartoum in a long-United Nations convoy, while millions of frightened residents hunkered down inside their homes, many running low on water and food.

Across the city of five million, army and paramilitary troops have fought ferocious street battles since April 15, leaving behind charred tanks, gutted buildings and looted shops.

Several ceasefires that were agreed by both sides were ignored, including a three-day pause to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which started on Friday.

The Federal Government had planned the repatriation of Nigerian nationals in that country on Tuesday but had to shift the evacuation to Wednesday (today) for security reasons.

The PUNCH had reported that the government sought the support of the Egyptian authorities to evacuate the 5,500 stranded Nigerians out of Sudan through Luxor, Egypt.

The Director of the Special Duties, National Emergency Management Agency, who doubles as Chairman of NEMA’s Committee for the Evacuation of the Stranded Nigerians from Sudan, Dr Onimode Bandele, had said the government met with government officials in Egypt on how to move Nigerians through Luxor.

Following the delay in evacuating students from Sudan, the National Association of Nigerian Students arranged the transportation of some students through Ethiopia.

The students were, however, denied access to Ethiopia by the country’s authorities because they lacked security clearance.

Bandele, who advised Nigerians against self-evacuation, said such an arrangement was risky.

“Whatever you meet is your headache, because you did not listen to the authorities that are supposed to cater for you,” he had warned Nigerians.

There were indications on Tuesday that the Federal Government had intensified efforts to evacuate the students and other stranded Nigerians.

In a letter dated April 23, 2023, signed by the Charge D’ Affairs, Nigerian Embassy in Sudan, Haruna Garko, the mission requested 200 buses to convey 3,500 students from Khartoum to Cairo.

According to the payment receipt the Federal Government through NEMA transferred N150m to one Abubakar Ali through Jaiz Bank for the transportation of the beleaguered citizens.

The country is currently witnessing hostility between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces.

This was contained in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu for the Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, on Thursday.

Odu said NiDCOM was in consultation with the “National Emergency Management Agency, which is in charge of emergency evacuations, and also with the Nigerian mission in Sudan and other relevant agencies”.

He said the Chairman/CEO, NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, “urged all Nigerian students in Sudan as well as Nigerians living in Sudan to be security conscious and calm”

Recall that some Nigerians who travelled recently to Dubai were detained at the airport and their passports seized. Few were seen demanding answers after their passports were seized without explanation.

Dabiri-Erewa who disclosed this on a programme on Arise Tv, said, ‘‘What the Dubai authorities have done is this, they have made the visa processes more stringent. If you are below 30, there is no visa for you; it is so difficult. They make it so stringent that you won’t be able to fulfil it; it does not matter who you are.

‘‘Secondly, if you are going to Dubai now, you have to provide a six-month bank statement, you have your ticket, and you must show proof of accommodation where you are going to stay. If you lie about where you are going to stay, they are going to know, so they are going to turn you back.”

She advised Nigerians to stop giving the country a bad name.

Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa who addressed state house correspondents on Thursday Augusy 25, said there is little the Federal Government can do to diplomnatically resolve issues in the territory because Northern Cyprus is not recognised by the international community except Turkey.

She said; “Think twice before going to Northern Cyprus. We can’t do much for Nigerians there. Our students are being killed daily. Some people will tell you that their destinies are abroad but if you want to go, go legally.”

Dabiri-Erewa who also urged Nigerians in Diaspora not to be afraid to invest in the country because of insecurity, stated that while the country’s insecurity challenge is a source of concern, it is only temporary because of stiff measures currently employed by the Federal Government to tackle the situation.

She also revealed that the commission recorded over $20 billion in diaspora remittances for 2021.

In a viral video, thousands of people were seated in an open area with their bags and luggage following the mass deportation of aliens being carried out by the UAE authorities.

The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who briefed journalists in Abuja on Friday, said the profiling being carried out by the Nigerian Consulate in Dubai was necessary to properly get detailed information about the Nigerians over there before evacuating them.

She said, “Immediately, the attention of the Nigerian Consulate in Dubai was drawn to the issue, Nigerians there are being profiled. Some of them have passports and some do not. There are some children that do not have any form of identification. Some do not even remember the names with which they entered the country originally. So they need to be profiled. It is also important to ensure that some have not committed a crime and they are just running.

“So, what the consulate is doing now is profiling everybody at the holding centre. Initially, at the airport, there was a fake WhatsApp message sent to everybody that there were flights that led to the rush to the airport. There were quite a lot of Africans.”

The NiDCOM chairman also explained that “It is after the profiling that the consulate will make a decision on the next step to take. The consulate and the embassy will brief the Federal Government on the next step to take.”

David asked questions about what was done by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to help Itunu after her case was made public

Abike, who is the Chairperson of NIDCOM, responded, explaining efforts made to get Itunu out of jail before she sadly died in detention.

However, David wasn’t satisfied with her answer and tried to ask another question.  Ms Abike kept explaining herself while David was trying to ask his question and he expressed his disapproval, saying: “Will you stop talking over me?”

David Hundeyin had highlighted Itunu’s plight earlier this year and called on the Nigerian government to do something about her case.

Itunu Babalola, a 21-year-old Nigerian businesswoman was jailed in Ivory Coast after her house was burgled. She had reported the theft to the police and a suspect was caught. However, a police officer in Ivory Coast, who is related to the suspect fingered in the robbery, allegedly tried to get Itunu to drop the case and allegedly offered her money. When she refused to drop the case, she was accused of human trafficking and was charged to court. She was jailed for 20 years over a crime she didn’t commit. Ms Abike Dabiri-Erewa said by the time her case was made public earlier this year, she had already spent 2 years in jail. Itunu was said to have had complications from diabetes and was rushed to a hospital but she didn’t make it. She died this month

She disclosed this while responding to a tweet from a Nigerian appealing to Nigerians residing in Gaza to get in touch with the commission if they need help.

See the exchange below

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known at a budget defence of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission before the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Matters.

He however lamented the meagre allocation of N143 million to the Commission in the 2021 budget estimate.

The Minister, who was represented by his Minister of State, Zubairu Dada, said: “I want to assure you that in three weeks’ time, the Federal government will come out with a Diaspora Policy”.

Giving details of the performance of the 2020 budget, Onyeama said the commission was allocated a personnel cost of N247million with about N206,640 released as at October with a balance of N41,328, 948, 50.

He said further out of the N27,076, 094million released for over head cost, only N22.5m has been accessed and utilised, while out of the N100m budgeted for capital, only N53 million was released, with N52m utilized, leaving a balance, N623,000.

He disclosed that rather than increasing the Commission’s personal budget for 2021, it was reduced from to N143, 795, 80million the N247million submitted to the Budget Office of the Federation.

“We made a proposal of over N247m, but from the observation, it will appear there was a mistake somewhere down the line. we are not aware of any retrenchment at Nidcom. we can’t seem to explain how this figure came about”, the Minister told the Committee,” he said.

The Minister said even though the Commission has a lot of work that would require them travel, it was given zero allocation for international and local travels.

Chairman of the Commission Abike Dabiri-Erewa, told the lawmakers: “There is no provision for office, in the budget; even with the initial budget(of 2020), there was none”.

Chairman of the Diaspora Committee, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, assured the Commission the lawmakers will make sure the budget of the commission is increased even above their proposal of N247million for personnel so that the agency can employ more staff and be more efficient.