The Federal Government has said that the repatriation of Nigerians stranded in parts of the Middle East will begin once regional airspace reopens.
Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, stated this while responding to complaints from a Nigerian stranded in Qatar.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Begins Evacuation Of Citizens From Iran
The stranded Nigerian had voiced frustration in a post on X on Monday.
“Never been this helpless before in my life 9days stuck in Qatar with my family and other Nigerians who were on transit; countries have picked up their citizens from here, it’s mostly Nigerians that are left! We have called Embassy and Consulate yet no positive response,” the user wrote.
“Every Nigerian here just feels helpless, the passport can’t even get us a Saudi visa! to at least leave from here, once you click Nigerian it stops even with a Uk visa. This situation is a highly Diplomatic situation, but we seem to not have a strong diplomatic relation.
“For the repatriation flight, for how long are we going to have to wait for? We need help here; there are really old people here with us and children,” the user added.
Responding to the complaints, Dabiri-Erewa explained that repatriation flights could not begin yet because the airspace remains closed.
“And as for repatriation flights, the skies are currently unsafe to fly. Luckily, a flight came in from the UAE to Lagos two days ago, just before another strike and closure of the airspace.
“Once the airspace opens, the multi-agency FGN team on crises and evacuation is on standby.
“Our prayers with you and all our people in affected countries,” she said on Tuesday.
It is still unclear how many Nigerians are stranded in Iran and other Middle East countries affected by the conflict.
Evacuation Through Armenia
Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa said the Federal Government had begun evacuating willing Nigerians in Iran by escorting them across the Armenian border.
According to her, officials of the Nigerian embassy in Tehran are coordinating the evacuation and facilitating the safe passage of Nigerians who wish to leave for Armenia.
She also assured that no Nigerian in Iran had been affected by the ongoing tensions, noting that embassy officials remained stationed at the border to receive and assist evacuees.
“Willing Nigerians being escorted across the Armenian border by officials of the Nigerian embassy in Iran for safe passage. No Nigerian in Iran has been affected by the war as officials remain at the border to receive all who want to leave,” she stated in her post on X.
Middle East Turbulence
Tensions in the region escalated after Iran launched retaliatory strikes over alleged missile activities by the United States from a base in Qatar.
Iran has since been exchanging strikes with Israel and the United States following the outbreak of hostilities on February 28.
Before the attacks, several countries issued travel advisories urging their citizens to leave high-risk areas in the region.
Nigeria also issued an advisory on the first day of the conflict, stating that it was closely monitoring the situation.
Reports indicate that Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar shut their airspace immediately after the conflict began, leaving many travellers stranded.
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