The first batch of Nigerians fleeing war-prone Sudan has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja.
The 376 returnees, who took off from Aswan, Egypt, were airlifted by the Nigerian Air Force on the NAF C-130H aircraft at about 4pm.
They landed at the Federal Capital Territory at 11:35 pm against the 11:23pm scheduled for a touchdown at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport.
The Evacuees experienced some delays as a result of the formalities issued by the Egyptian authorities to enable them to be airlifted to Nigeria.
Federal Government’s delegation who were at the airport to welcome the returnees are: Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk; Director General, National Management Emergency Agency (NEMA), Ahmed Mustapha and Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The Minister disclosed that each of the returnees would be given N100,000 to enable them settle in, adding that a full press briefing on the issues surrounding the evacuation had been scheduled for Thursday.
