Another Batch of 125 Nigerians Arrive in Abuja, Number of Evacuees Hits 2,371

* Universities pledge to absorb returnee students

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

A total of 125 Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
This is coming as some universities have pledged to support Nigerian students evacuated from war-torn Sudan.
The evacuees arrived yesterday at 12.49 pm on a Tarco B737-300 aircraft from Port Sudan. The latest arrival brings the total number of evacuated Nigerians from Sudan to 2,371.

Upon arrival, the returnees were processed by immigration officials, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons.
On May 3, after nearly two weeks of assurances by the federal government, the first batch of Nigerians fleeing Sudan arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Air Peace flight carrying over 270 Nigerian students from the Aswan Airport in Egypt first landed at the airport, with the NAF C-130H jet conveying about 80 persons following closely behind.

Two days later, the second batch arrived in Abuja around 3 pm on board a Tarco Airline aircraft carrying 130 passengers, including 128 females and two males.
The following day, federal government officials in Abuja received the third batch of evacuees arriving from Port Sudan at 1:45 pm. The returnees were said to have been made up of 131 people, mostly women and children.
Last Sunday, the fourth set of 422 returnees arrived in Abuja on two flights — 102 landed on a Tarco Airlines flight from Port Sudan and 322 onboard Azman Air from Aswan, Egypt.

The same day, 413 Nigerians landed on a Max Air flight arriving in Abuja around 10:50 am.
One hundred and twenty-nine other Nigerians last Monday were repatriated to Abuja from Port Sudan on board a Tarco Airlines flight. The jet transporting 124 adults and five infants arrived at 9:15 am.

On Tuesday, another batch made up of 136 stranded Nigerians arrived at 9:30 am on a Tarco aircraft from Port Sudan.
The evacuation was followed up by last Thursday’s arrival of 126 student evacuees on a Tarco Aviation aircraft from Port Sudan, landing in Abuja at 12:25 pm.
Meanwhile, some universities have pledged to support Nigerian students evacuated from war-torn Sudan.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) disclosed that Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State; Summit University, Offa, Kwara State; and American University, The Gambia have shown interest in the absorption of Nigerian returnee students from Sudan.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has also promised to provide the necessary support to ensure that Nigerian students evacuated from Sudan are integrated into the nation’s universities.

NIDCOM’s Chairman/CEO, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, acknowledged the efforts of Igbinedion University when she received the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye in Abuja.

“We were with JAMB and JAMB has given conditions, processes, and guidelines to follow, which I am sure you are aware of, and the key thing is even if they have come to you and you have admitted them; we will need that letter from JAMB saying JAMB has given them admission letter; so, we avoid situations that after graduation they can’t go for youth service,” she said.

The commission also disclosed that the 15th batch of Evacuees, consisting of 125 Nationals who departed Port Sudan International Airport, landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport around 12-noon local time yesterday via Tarco Air.