Nigeria evacuates 1,800 citizens, more still stranded in Ukraine
The East African | Abuja,
Following the commencement of the war in Ukraine, Nigeria successfully evacuated another 301 of its nationals, bringing the total number of evacuations to 1,800.
However, many more people remain stranded in Ukraine and have requested assistance in returning home.
The 301 passengers, mostly students stranded in Sumy, Ukraine, were flown back to Budapest, Hungary, onboard Air Azman. On Saturday night, they arrived at Abuja's Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the sixth batch of returnees in the continuing evacuation since the conflict between Ukraine and Russia erupted on February 23, 2022.
Top Federal Government officials, led by Mr. Bolaji Akinremi, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Legal and Consular Section, received the latest returnees.
According to the ministry, after negotiations between the Nigerian and Ukrainian governments, a route was established for them to depart the city.
On March 11, 2022, around 123 evacuees who had made their way to Poland were returned to their homes.
Nigerians who had fled to Poland, Romania, and Hungary when Russia invaded Ukraine have been repatriated so far.
Mr. AbdurRahman Terab, the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission's (NIDCOM) head of Technology Transfer Innovation, said that each returnee received $100 in addition to N5000 in airtime to contact their relatives.
Screening, documentation, and Covid-19 tests were also performed on the returnees.
A group of 23 Kherson State Maritime Academy students is begging for assistance to flee Ukraine. Following a three-day siege, Russian forces took Ukraine's port city of Kherson, which has a population of 290,000 people, on March 3.
Following Moscow's assault, it was the first large city to fall.
The students want the government to pressure Russian authorities to proclaim a cease-fire so that they can safely flee the city.
As Russia's invasion intensifies, they say they've spent nearly 15 days sleeping in basements.
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, Everyone is shivering. We have heaters in our homes in everyday life. However, in the event of a conflict, we will be trapped underground with no means of heating.
"Please speak with the mayor of Kherson and the Russian people. Allow them to reach an agreement so that a cease-fire may be established so that we can have a green corridor. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please
According to another student, roughly six Nigerians have become unwell as a result of the weather and current conditions.
"There isn't anything to eat." He stated, "We are in catastrophic condition."