The federal government has advised Nigerians against traveling to Northern Cyprus.
The Director-General of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, gave this warning on Thursday at the state house ministerial media briefing in Abuja.
She warned Nigerians against moving to Northern Cyprus, due to the human rights abuses meted out to Nigerians in the country.
She also warned that the country, which is only recognized by Turkiye, does not have robust mechanisms that would enable the Federal Government to pursue justice for several Nigerian students killed in the de facto state.
“Think twice before going to Northern Cyprus. We can’t do much for Nigerians there. Our students are being killed daily,” she said.
“Some people will tell you that their destinies are abroad but if you want to go, go legally.”
Also speaking on the evacuation of Nigerian students from Ukraine, Dabiri-Erewa said over 10,000 stranded students have been evacuated so far
According to her, every Nigerian stranded in Ukraine at the start of the conflict has returned home safely.
She also said students psychologically affected by the conflict have gone through proper counseling before continuing their education either online or on-site by enrolling into private universities in the country to continue their programs.
“We do the work but we don’t get any form of extra money. There is a department in foreign affairs strictly for Ukraine but we did our own bit, there is a portal that if you want to continue your education…,” she added.
“Again it is a matter of choice, go to the portal and enroll and I think as at the last time I spoke to the director in charge, he said 403 had actually enrolled but a lot of them are actually trying the private universities.
“Some universities have offered scholarships. It’s ongoing but the key thing is some institutions, particularly in the medical world noted that when they put them through some examinations, they actually didn’t pass the level they felt they should, so there were some issues.”
