The Nigerian Government has evacuated 292 stranded Nigerians in Saudi Arabia due to the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, announced on Wednesday in Abuja that the flight conveying the evacuees arrived late on Tuesday night at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
“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,” the report by Channel’s Television quoted the minister as saying.
The Nigerian Government had earlier evacuated other stranded Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
More than 300 Nigerians were evacuated from the UK about two weeks ago, while 160 Nigerians were also evacuated from the United States and 256 others from the UAE.
GIK/APA