Nigerian authorities have denied allegations of ethnic discrimination during the evacuation of stranded nationals in Sudan.
This follows a viral video in which one of the Nigerians stranded in Sudan claimed that because of their ethnicity, some of them were left behind during the evacuation.
However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (Nidcom) denied the accusations, calling them “divisive and ridiculous” in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to Nidcom spokesperson Abdur-Rahman Balogun, all those who converged at the prescribed locations were picked up and transported in 40 buses either to Port Sudan or to the Egyptian border.
He stated that priority was given to women, children, and students, who were referred to by their states in alphabetical order, beginning with south-eastern Abia.
“They can’t blame anyone if they arrived after the specified time or did not show up at the point of pick up,” Mr. Balogun said.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nidcom, and the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) to account for the status of Nigerians in Sudan’s evacuation.
