‘No truth whatsoever’ — FG dismisses claims of ethnic bias in evacuating Nigerians from Sudan

The ministry of foreign affairs has dismissed allegations of selective evacuation of Nigerian students from war-torn Sudan.

Francisca Omayuli, the ministry’s spokesperson, made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday.

On Monday, a video clip surfaced online in which one of the Nigerians stranded in Sudan alleged that some of them were left behind while others were evacuated.

“They have come here and picked up those they picked up, leaving the rest of us who are Igbos,” the person who spoke in Igbo language alleged.

Omayuli said the ministry had investigated the claims and discovered that they were baseless.

She said the Nigerian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, confirmed that Igbo residents were among the first batch of Nigerians evacuated to Egypt before being airlifted home.

“The attention of the ministry of foreign affairs has been drawn to a video making the rounds on the social media of an unidentified man with no indication of his contact details nor location, claiming that the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, refused to evacuate Igbo resident in Sudan,”  the statement reads.

“The ministry has investigated the allegation and can assure Nigerians that there is no truth whatsoever to the allegation.

“The Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum confirmed that evacuees of Igbo extraction were among the first batch of 637 Nigerians evacuated to Aswan Border, Egypt where they are presently awaiting their eventual return to Nigeria.”

The statement added that there was an initial fracas between students and other Nigerian nationals over the limited number of buses.

“However, more buses were made available to accommodate every Nigerian national in Sudan who indicated interest to be evacuated,” the statement added.

“It is, therefore, surprising that such a misleading allegation could be leveled against officials of the embassy who had worked tirelessly on the evacuation exercise.

“To this end, the general public is advised to disregard the allegation.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) reacted to the allegations made in the viral video.

Abdur-Rahman Balogun, media aide to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairperson of NIDCOM, described the allegations as “a fabricated lie from the pit of hell”.