Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said 2,518 Nigerians have been evacuated from crisis-torn Sudan. Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Mr. Abdur-Rahman Balogun, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, while giving update on evacuation.
Balogun said: “The evacuation was done through 15 flights, with four from Aswan, Egypt and 11 from Port Sudan. A total of 2,371 evacuees have safely returned home as of Saturday, May 13. The new arrivals, just now, are 140 adults, comprising three infants and 30 children, making a total of 2,518.”
Meanwhile, the last batch of students that arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, at the weekend, said they passed through a very traumatic experience.
The President, Kano State Students in Sudan, Hassan Sanusi, described as “terrible” what they went through. According to him, several frightened students fell unconscious as fighter jets rained bullets and bombs on buildings and sundry targets.
He said: “If you have ever witnessed fighter jets going around in the sky, dropping missiles, bombs and so on, and collapsing buildings, you will understand why some were falling unconscious.
“This really happened, and we witnessed many. It was not easy. I think we that arrived as the last batch really need a therapist to recover because it was not funny waking up amid shootings and bombings.”
Sanusi, a student of International University of Africa in Khartoum, explained: “Khartoum is the main war zone. That was why we found it very difficult to evacuate. We were scared, when we woke up one morning to see that fighting had started, with people shooting one another.” He commended the Federal Government for efforts at ensuring all Nigerian students were identified and airlifted home.
President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Sudan, Abubakar Babangida, said the body would soon hold a media briefing to appreciate Nigerians and also share experiences.
