The federal government has evacuated 542 Nigerians who were stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) back into the country.
The evacuees who consisted of 79 males, 460 females and 3 infants, arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on board Maxair charted flight on Sunday at about 4:29 am.
They were received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and airport officials, security agencies including the National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigerian Diaspora Commission, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Customs Service, Port Health Services, National Centre Disease Control (NCDC).
The returnees were screened by NCDC profiled by various relevant agencies and cleared by Nigerian Immigration Service.
Earlier, Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, in a statement by the Head of Media, Ezekiel Manzo, admonished them to learn from their experiences and be law-abiding citizens that promote economic growth and a positive image of Nigeria.
Represented by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Sani Jiba, he said the Federal Government had approved the evacuation and provision of the token for the returnees to support the movement of the returnees back to their homes.
In her remarks, the Consul General of Nigeria in Dubai Ambassador Atinuke Taibat, Mohammed who accompanied the returnees back on the flight appreciated the Federal Government for the special intervention in the safe evacuation of the stranded citizens back home.
