Abike Dabiri's NIDCOM Abandons Nigerians in the Middle East Amid US - Iran Crisis

A Nigerian woman has taken to social media to share the plight of her family and other Nigerians who have been stuck in Qatar for over 9 days due to the ongoing US-Iran war that has halted flights around the region.

In the X post shared on March 9, 2026, the lady stated that while other countries have evacuated their citizens, there's still no reply from the Nigerian Diaspora Commission on how Nigerians stuck in the region will be safely evacuated.

"Never been this helpless before in my life. 9 days stuck in Qatar with my family and other Nigerians who were on transit, countries have picked up their citizens from here it’s mostly Nigerians that are left! We have called the Embassy and Consulate yet no postive response."

In the thread, she added that Nigerians stuck in Qatar feel helpless as they can't get a temporary visa to the neighboring Saudi Arabia, even while having a valid UK visa.

"Every Nigerian here just feels helpless,the passport can’t even get us a Saudi visa! to atleast leave from here,once you click Nigerian it stops even with a Uk visa. This situation is a highly Diplomatic situation but we seem to not have a strong diplomatic relations."

The Nigerians stuck in Qatar are mostly traveller enroute the United Kingdom via Qatar Airways, which made a stop in Doha. What should have been a routine layover has now become complicated after the airline announced that it's halting operations till further notice.

On February 28, Qatar Airways announced the halting of its operations after the Qatari government closed the country's airspace amidst the tensions in the Middle East caused by the United States and Israel's attack on Iran.

On March 8, Qatar Airways announced that it had received permission from the government for an operational corridor that would see it operate select flights to some European countries for passengers whose final destination was the country.

With the regular flight schedule still suspended, Nigerians stuck in Qatar are relying on NIDCOM, led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to evacuate them from the region. Last week, the commission shared that it had received distress calls from Nigerians in the Middle East and confirmed evacuation plans without sharing specific dates on when the process will begin for each country in the region.

NIDCOM also recently shared a hotline through which Nigerians in the Middle East can contact the commission. The lack of a Nigerian Ambassador in Qatar has also been blamed for the lack of a clear evacuation strategy. With the recent appointment of former INEC Chairman Mahmuud Yakubu as the country's envoy to Qatar, Nigerians stuck in the country will be hoping for a quick resolution to the situation.