Nigerian govt evacuates 292 stranded Nigerians from Saudi Arabia

Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama has announced that no fewer than 292 evacuees stranded in Saudi Arabia due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been evacuated by the federal government.

Onyeama, who revealed this via his official Twitter page on Wednesday, May 20, said that the evacuees who were received yesterday (Tuesday) included nursing mothers and children.

He wrote on Twitter; “We received 292 evacuees stranded in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The Saudi Government transported them to Abuja. A large number are nursing mothers and children and they are all comfortably settled in hotels under the mandatory 14 days quarantine. #COVID19 #PTFCOVID19 @NigeriaGov.”

This development came 10 days after 160 Nigerians stranded in the United States of America due to the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Abuja.

The stranded Nigerians including eight infants who made the first batch of evacuees will return aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft under the special flight arrangements by the Federal Government for nationals stranded abroad, the report by NAN revealed.