The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 708 stranded Nigerians evacuated from Niamey, Niger Republic, as part of ongoing efforts to repatriate citizens facing hardship abroad.
The returnees arrived at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, the returnees conveyed in 12 buses and are currently undergoing profiling and physical verification.
Speaking to journalists at the airport, the Head of Operations, NEMA Kano Office, Dr. Nura Abdullahi, said the evacuees comprised 292 male adults and children and 416 female adults and children from states including Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Benue, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi, and Niger.
According to him, the evacuation was coordinated by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“They have been provided with food and temporary shelter. They have also been given blankets, mosquito nets, and dignity kits containing toiletries, wrappers, sanitary pads, and other essentials,” Abdullahi said.
“By tomorrow morning, after necessary profiling, they will be transported to their respective states,” he added.
He further disclosed that medical personnel from the Nigerian Red Cross are on ground to attend to returnees with health concerns, noting that severe cases would be referred to appropriate health facilities.
Abdullahi advised Nigerians, particularly youths, to avoid irregular migration in search of better opportunities abroad, warning that such journeys often expose them to danger.
Also speaking, the Kano Field Coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Luba Liman, described the evacuation as a “whole-of-government approach.”
“This is a voluntary return. Many of them could not afford to come back on their own, so the government arranged for their evacuation in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Niamey and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” she said.
Some of the returnees recounted harrowing experiences that forced them to flee Niger Republic.
A returnee from Kaduna State, Malam Kamalu Abdullahi, said he had lived in Niamey for 12 years before violence broke out.
“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 commended the Federal Government for facilitating their return, adding that he would not go back to Niger even if offered incentives.
Another returnee, Rabi’a Inusa, a mother of three from Jigawa State, said she endured severe hardship after relocating to Niamey.
“My husband sold our house and threw my belongings out. I travelled to seek greener pastures but ended up sleeping on the streets. I spent over N100,000 to get there and returned home with nothing,” she said.
Many of the returnees, mostly women and children, appeared distressed and unkempt 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 evacuees.
