First batch of evacuees, 350, finally arrive Nigeria, others soon

The first batch of evacuees from Sudan that were airlifted from Egypt are now in Nigeria. The Air Peace flight carrying over 270 Nigerian students from the Aswan Airport in Egypt landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja with the evacuees thanking God and the Federal Government for their escape from the crisis-ridden Sudan.

The NAF C-130H jet also conveying about 80 persons also touched down moments later.

ValidViewNetwork had earlier reported that the Federal Government assured Nigerians that it was working round the clock towards ensuring that the 5500 Nigerians were successfully evacuated. The arrival of the first batch confirms the commitment of the Federal Government.

Buses were first arranged to convey the Nigerians to Egypt from where they were airlifted to Nigeria.

ValidViewNetwork also reported that the largest domestic airline, Air Peace had declared its readiness to airlift Nigerians from the troubled zone at no cost.

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The evacuees arrived at the airport in the midst of heavy security presence, including mostly wingmen of the Nigerian Air Force.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouk; the Chairman/CEO of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and the Director General of the National Management Emergency Agency (NEMA), Ahmed Mustapha, were at the airport to receive the students.

Farouk said the returnees would be given N100,000 each to enable them settle in, adding that a full press briefing on the issues surrounding the evacuation had been scheduled for later on Thursday.

The NEMA boss also noted that four aircraft were expected to arrive on Thursday, adding that they would convey almost 400 persons. According to him, Azman Air has joined Air Peace in the evacuation effort.