The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Monday received 708 stranded Nigerians who were evacuated from Niamey in the Niger Republic.
The Head of Operations at NEMA’s Kano office, Dr. Nura Abdullahi, disclosed this while speaking to journalists shortly after the returnees arrived at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, where they were being profiled.
The group, which arrived at about 4:08 p.m. in 12 buses, was undergoing physical verification upon arrival.
According to Abdullahi, the returnees include 292 male adults and children, as well as 416 female adults and children from various states, including Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Benue, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi, and Niger.
He explained that the evacuation was facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Abdullahi added that the returnees had been provided with food and temporary shelter, along with essential relief items.
“They have also been given blankets, mosquito nets and dignity kits containing toiletries, wrappers, sanitary pads and other essentials. By tomorrow morning, after necessary profiling, they will be transported to their respective states,” Abdullahi said.
He further noted that medical personnel from the Nigeria Red Cross were on ground to attend to those who were ill, with more serious cases to be referred to appropriate health facilities.
He also advised Nigerians, particularly youths, to avoid risking their lives by travelling abroad in search of better opportunities.
Also speaking, the Kano Field Coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Hajiya Luba Liman, described the evacuation as a “whole-of-government approach” to bringing stranded Nigerians back home.
She said the process was carried out by the Federal Government in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Niamey and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This is a voluntary return. Many of them could not afford to come back on their own, so the government arranged for their evacuation,” Liman said.
One of the returnees, Malam Kamalu Abdullahi from Kaduna State, recounted his experience, saying he had lived in Niamey for 12 years before violence forced him to flee.
“I woke up one morning , hearing people shouting ‘fire, fire’. My house and those of other Nigerians were set ablaze. When I came out, I was attacked and told to leave the country,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for facilitating their return and stated that he would not consider going back to Niger, even if offered financial incentives.
Another returnee, Rabi’a Inusa, a mother of three from Jigawa State, said family challenges led her to travel to Niamey with two of her children, where she spent five months in hardship.
“My husband in Nigeria sold our house and threw my belongings on the street. I decided to travel to Algeria to seek for greener pastures to rent a house in Nigeria and provide for my Children. I was sleeping on the streets. I was directed to a camp for voluntary returnees. I spent over N100,000 on transport when I was travelling to Niamey and returned home with nothing,” she said.
Many of the returnees, mostly women and children, appeared visibly distressed and in poor condition upon arrival.
Officials from NEMA, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and the Nigeria Immigration Service were present to receive and assist the returnees.
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