Onyeama shares FG’s plan to rescue over 5,000 Nigerians trapped in Sudan -

At least 5000 Nigerians trapped in war-torn Sudan will soon be rescued and brought back home, the federal government has said.

Geoffrey Onyeama, the honorable minister for foreign affairs, in a discussion on Channels Television Sunday revealed the government’s strategy to rescue these stranded Nigerians from harm’s way in Khartoum, the capital and other parts of Sudan.

“First of all, we have an embassy there, and we’ve told them to put up a platform where all the Nigerians who are in Sudan can log on to so information will be available and to coordinate the process,” he said.

“What you need in a situation like this is a place where everybody can congregate before you start moving them out and because the airport is out of commission, the only viable way out is by road but of course it’s not totally safe, so you’re going to require government to provide some security and a safe corridor out.”

The minister emphasised that the situation in Sudan is particularly challenging because of the large number of stranded Nigerians but the government is working round the clock to ensure their safe return home as quickly as possible.

“Where we are at the moment is trying to get the authorisation from the Sudanese government to undertake this long convoy journey and for them to provide some security. The options available to us include the Egyptian border, Port Sudan is another place where we understand that some of the international diplomatic people have been congregating and the Ethiopian border. However, we don’t want to take any risks and put our citizens; brothers and sisters in danger,” he added.