The fifth batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine arrived early Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
They arrived on a plane owned by Air Peace, one of the airlines billed to airlift Nigerians returning from Ukraine. They were airlifted from Poland where they had fled following the war in Ukraine.
A total of 123 Nigerians were evacuated on the fifth flight, according to the federal government.
The evacuees, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), also got free SIM cards loaded with airtime to allow them reach their family members courtesy of a partnership between NiDCOM and MTN, a network service provider.
The evacuees also received 100 dollars for transportation as did the batches that arrived before them.
Another batch is expected to arrive Nigeria from Hungary on Saturday, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the arrival of 1078 evacuees who arrived in Nigeria last week through Max Air and Air Peace, the two airlines billed to airlift Nigerians returning from Ukraine.
The federal government last Wednesday approved $8.5 million for the evacuation of 5,000 stranded Nigerians.
The Nigerian government Tuesday said it has begun the evacuation of its students stuck in Sumy, a troubled city in north-east Ukraine.
Heoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, on his official Twitter page, said he was “delighted and mightily relieved that the evacuation of our Nigerian students from Sumy has commenced.”
“They are in our thoughts and prayers as they undertake the very long and hazardous trip to safety,” the minister tweeted.
This was made possible through humanitarian corridors established to evacuate civilians from war-torn areas in Ukraine.
Two weeks into the crisis, Russia and Ukraine have yet to reach a ceasefire agreement however, foreign ministers of both countries Thursday met in Turkey in the first face-to-face talk since the war erupted.
Nearly two million people have fled Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, while hundreds of people have been killed in the war.
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