The federal government says it spent approximately $1.2 million to evacuate its Nigerian citizens from the ongoing civil unrest in Sudan.
The was disclosed by Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday.
The evacuation of the trapped Nigerians involved 40 buses that were used to transport them from Sudan to the Egyptian border. The high cost of the evacuation was attributed to the need to provide security cover for the Nigerians during their journey to the border.
Onyeama stated that “The sum of $1.2 million is what we’re being charged for all the 40 buses. We have huge transport luxury buses made available to us to transport to the Egyptian border.
“Of course, you know, because of the risks involved and so many other things, a lot of people are going to also take advantage, you’re going to hike up the price.
“We saw that the French convoy was attacked and so forth. It was difficult procuring these buses. But we had to do it because you know, Nigerians’ lives matter to us.”
The ongoing conflict between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, has claimed the lives of over 400 people and injured thousands since it began on April 15. Several Nigerians were among the international citizens stranded by the civil unrest.
The Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) shared pictures of buses arriving in Sudan to evacuate stranded Nigerian students to safety. The buses will take the Nigerians to the Egyptian border, where they are expected to be airlifted to Nigeria.
The Nigerian government’s decision to evacuate its citizens from Sudan follows similar actions taken by other countries. France and the United States have also evacuated their citizens due to the deteriorating security situation in the country.
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