Information on Evacuation of Nigerians from India on Dec 16 Misleading-FG

JONAS EZIEKE, Abuja

The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said its attention had been drawn to a video making rounds on social media, showing some stranded Nigerians at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India.

The Ministry said in the video that the Nigerians were purportedly refused evacuation to Nigeria on Friday,16th December, 2022.

This information according to the Spokesperson of the Ministry Francisca Omayuli in a statement to journalists is inaccurate, misleading and not well intended.

She said that the Federal Government of Nigeria on Friday, 16th December, 2022 provided a chartered flight to evacuate Nigerians who had been in the custody of the Indian authorities, awaiting deportation for reasons such as overstay and completion of various prison terms.

However, some other persons who had not gone through the required procedure for repatriation showed up at the airport on the day of the flight to request evacuation.

She explained that following  the intervention of the Nigerian High Commission and officials handling the evacuation exercise, a number of this category of persons who met the conditions for repatriation were cleared and accommodated on the flight.

Consequently, a total number of 191 Nigerians were evacuated from India on the special flight, excluding 5 officials.

“This number comprised of 152  males, 43 females and some other persons who had not gone through the required procedure for repatriation showed up at the airport on the day of the flight to request evacuation.

“Following the intervention of the Nigerian High Commission and officials handling the evacuation exercise, a number of this category of persons who met the conditions for repatriation were cleared and accommodated on the flight.

“Consequently, a total number of 191 Nigerians were evacuated from India on the special flight, excluding 5 officials. This number comprised of 152 males, 43 females and an infant”.

The Foreign Ministry official however said that a few other Nigerians couldn’t make the evacuation flight due to their inability to meet the required conditions set by the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) of the Indian Bureau of Immigration, for reasons such as, no records of entry into India; children with proxy parents; those who entered India with passports other than Nigerian passports, presentation of undocumented FRRO forms; and inability to file the application form for exit permit.

The Nigerian High Commission in India she added has appealed to those who could not make the evacuation list to exercise patience and understanding, while efforts are being made to ensure that all affected Nigerians are accommodated in the next batch of the evacuation exercise.

In the meantime, the Federal Government is deeply concerned about what has become a trend, where some Nigerians travel to foreign countries on their own volition and become stranded, due to insufficient knowledge of the country and inadequate preparations.

Equally worrisome to the Nigerian government are those who have made it a habit to at the spur of the moment, take advantage of the slightest opportunity to propagate unverified information on issues they have little or no knowledge about.

These attitudes the government said cause unnecessary anxiety in families and misinform the general public.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abuja Nigeria therefore implore citizens of the country travelling abroad to be very

knowledgeable about the entry and exit procedures of the country being visited, so as to be well guided to avoid unpleasant consequences.

For a better society

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