On Wednesday night, Air Peace Airline and Nigeria Air Force (NAF) planes brought 376 Nigerian returnees from Sudan and Egypt to Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
As President Muhammadu Buhari intervened, their safe transit through Egypt was assured.
The Federal Government’s Sadiya Umar Farouk, Ahmed Mustapha, and Abike Dabiri-Erewa welcomed them.
Some left bags behind to board the plane.
Zainab, an evacuee, told an online medium at Abuja airport that they had lost hope of life in Sudan.
The 300-level physiotherapy student stated they were mistreated at the Aswan border in Egypt.
“When the battle started, I didn’t know since we were asleep, we suddenly started hearing gunfire and missiles and we had to escape for safety,” she added.
“Leaving Khartoum for Egypt was really difficult. We’re poor, and life there was pricey. Sick children and pregnant women. Sleeping in the automobile made us worry we wouldn’t survive, and we lived in the vehicle. We spent six days at the Aswan border in Egypt, where they treated us like animals.
Another student, Akinola Barakat, claimed the trip from Sudan to the Aswan border took a week since the violence came “all of a sudden and we never expected it.”
“Border concerns. We needed help at the Sudan-Egypt border. She remarked, “We spent about a week there, and the travel wasn’t easy.”
That happened abruptly. We were surprised, and everyone fled after hearing explosives in the morning. Studying in Nigeria was hard, so I went to Sudan. At the International University of Africa, I studied.”
A returning female student described their humiliations, including sleeping outdoors.
“We spent everything.” We were starving and thirsty, and they harassed us sexually. Food and water were unavailable. “We took items from shops and rushed away,” the returning female student said of her terrible encounter with other Nigerians at the Sudan-Egypt border.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, another female student said their legs were swelled after long bus rides.
A male student said they had to pay to urinate and hoped the war would stop soon so he could return to Sudan and finish his studies.
To settle in, Farouq said each returnee will receive N100,000.
After the situation, Sudan’s ambassador to Nigeria, Muhammad Yusuf, requested the evacuees to return to the North African nation. He made the appeal yesterday as some evacuated Nigerians landed at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
He encouraged them to view Sudan as their second nation, hoping the situation would end soon.
“Khartoum is cooling down, and the army will soon control the entire region. I’m sad for what’s occurring there, but I’m glad these evacuees from Sudan are safe, and Nigerians from their second countries are returning home.
“I hope that things would be managed there (Sudan) and safety would be returned and rehabilitation would be begun and you may come back to your second country to pursue and complete your education for those who are students and for others who have business there.”
He claimed the administration had suggested another humanitarian truce but that there would be no dialogue between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“There is a seven-day truce plan. To help stranded people access food, shelter, water, and medication, Sudan’s government has accepted this truce. Yet, as declared by the Sudanese government, no direct conversations will take place between the rebels and the legitimate army.”
