Second batch of Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine arrive Abuja

A second batch of Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine — amid the invasion by Russia — have arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, was at the airport to receive the evacuees.

According to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the evacuees arrived at 6:30pm on Friday from Warsaw, Poland.

The arrived on an Air Peace flight.

The development comes hours after the first batch of evacuees landed in Abuja.

They arrived at a few minutes after 7am on Friday via Max Air.

Speaking on the evacuation efforts, President Muhammadu Buhari had said his administration remains committed to defending citizens of the country.

According to Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari said this on Thursday in Nairobi, the Kenya capital, at a town-hall meeting with some Nigerians resident in the East African country.

“On our part as a government, we shall continue to defend the interests of all Nigerians wherever they may be. We have demonstrated this over time, as we have had cause to evacuate our citizens in harm’s way abroad,” he was quoted as saying.

“We did it in Libya, South Africa and we have just commenced doing the same in Ukraine, where thousands of our citizens, especially students, are trapped by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.”