1,600 Nigerians arriving from Sudan

Breakdown from a memo dated April 23 from the Embassy in Khartoum, disclosed that 50 diplomatic staff, 1,000 Nigerian local staff and 4,500 Nigerian students were already profiled to be rescued from Sudan.

While agitated students and their families were looking up to the government to come to the aid of these citizens caught in conflict, efforts were being made to seize available opportunity, including the latest 72-hour ceasefire window to urgently rescue all Nigerian residents in the country.

As a result, when the warring parties, after the failure of initial ceasefire, agreed to a fresh deal, diplomatic contacts were immediately extended to the Sudanese government for Nigeria to bring out its stranded citizens within the available window.

Already, the United Nation reported that about 413 we’re killed and another 3,500 injured in the first week as fighting escalated to Bahri and Omdurman,  as well as other cities adjacent to the capital.

The April 23 memo addressed to the Director (ABAD) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs read:

“According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, more than 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials rescued from battle-scarred Sudan have arrived in Jeddah.

“Some Nigerians numbering seven fled from Khartoum to the border town of Ethiopia (Metema/gallabat) 650km by road from Khartoum where they were denied entry.

“In the light of the foregoing, couple with the increase escalation of the violence especially in Khartoum and its suburbs, Headquarters may wish to urgently consider approving the evacuation of Embassy staff, their families Nigerian student and citizen through port of Sudan as did by other gulf and European countries, to a neighboring country like Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Cairo or Metema Ethiopia,” the memo added.

The Embassy further gave the costs of evacuating the 5,550 to include movement from Khartoum to Port Sudan, Matema or Cairo at USD1,665,000; $2,775,500 for air flight while $20,000 was earmarked for contingency. The memo also gave $5,550,000 as costs for accommodation and feeding which bring the total to $8,900,000.

In an update, through a memo, dated April 27, 2023 by the Embassy as seen by Credible News, so far 637 Nigerians have so far been evacuated using 13, out of 40 buses earmarked for the exercise.

“This is against our early arrangement with the company for the releases of 20 buses per day, although the company had prepared the balance of the 7 buses in the evening but withdrew them because the discussion for payments of the balance with DG NEMA in Cairo did not work out,” the memo noted.

Embassy noted, in the correspondence to Nigerian authorities in Abuja, that the company apparently “supplied the thirteen buses (13) equivalent to the $400,000 deposit paid less $10,000 ($30000@bus).”

The Embassy became worried that the company supplying the additional buses might withdraw until the conclusion of discussion with the Mission in Cairo.

It however noted that another firm willing to supply the remaining 27 cars have been approached to proceed with evacuation in case the outcome of the discussion fails.

The memo also hinged the continuation of the exercise to payment completion today, by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and the Mission.

Embassy further explained that only 49 Nigerians were allowed to board each bus contrary to the 88 envisaged.

If this is sustained, the Nigerian Embassy is worried that 40 buses would be inadequate to move the 3500 evacuattes to safety, saying based on the number of Nigerians that came out on Wednesday, the Mission is unlikely to exceed the 3500 schedule for the start of the evacuation.

As such it urged that preparation should be made for another 2000 to make up to the 5,500 earlier projected in the earlier memo.