FG hires 40 buses to evacuate stranded Nigerians from war-torn Sudan

The Federal Government is set to repatriate about 5,500 Nigerians, including students stranded in Khartoum in Sudan.

The FG reportedly hired 40 buses to facilitate the evacuation of the stranded Nigerians from the war-torn country to Cairo in Egypt.

The government is reported to have released N150m for hiring the buses.

According to ThePunch, the money was paid to an undisclosed transport company on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at 12:37 pm by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the National Emergency Management Agency.

Confirming this, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, said the payment has been made, adding that the evacuees would take off on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.

Security forces are at war in Sudan. (Punch) Pulse Nigeria

In a tweet on Tuesday night, she confirmed that Nigerians in Sudan would be moved to Egypt on Wednesday.

“It’s late in the night. Will get a clearer view in the morning. But in that dark shot are buses that will convey Nigerian students to nearby borders in Egypt. More buses are arriving. A bit of some logistics delay but all now sorted by @nemanigeria and the Nig mission, Sudan,” she tweeted.

The evacuation is taking place on the backdrop of a three-day ceasefire declared by the warring parties, the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Force. The ceasefire started at midnight Tuesday.

Meanwhile, before the ceasefire was declared, the CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema had called on the Nigerian government to get stranded Nigerians to a safe and secure airport in any of the neighbouring countries.

He promised to move Nigerians back to their country for free if the FG can move them to Kenya or Uganda or any other country.