MORE than 400 Nigerians fleeing from the war in Ukraine arrived in Abuja on Friday morning in the first batch of evacuations arranged by the Federal Government.
The evacuees arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in a chattered Max Air flight at 7:11 am.
Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri- Erewa announced the development on her Twitter page.
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The tweet by Dabiri-Erewa said 416 Nigerians arrived in the first batch but various media reports put the number at 411.
Thank God. Thank President Muhammadu Buhari @NigeriaGov . 416 back home . Two more arrivals expected later today @nidcom_gov #NigeriansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/UycJadDino
— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) March 4, 2022
The NIDCOM boss added that another flight from Hungary was expected to arrive soon.
And we await the next flight from Hungary as the Nigerian Ambassador , Mrs Modupe Irele , addressed them before departure #NigeriansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/WI7wiCNzHn
— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) March 4, 2022
Many Nigerians had fled to neighbouring Poland and Romania following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine had initially said Nigerians in the country should take care of their own safety and security.
However, following outrage from Nigerians, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NIDCOM stepped in to make arrangements for the evacuation of those who could find their way to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania.
The ICIR earlier reported that the Nigerian ambassador in Romania confirmed that the Federal Government had chattered flights to evacuate Nigerians from the war zone.
The ICIR also reported that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved $8.5 million to evacuate over 5,000 Nigerians stranded in Ukraine.
A reporter with the ICIR
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