No fewer than 301 stranded Nigerians returned home from Ukraine amidst Russian attacks on multiple fronts.
The stranded Nigerians, including students from war-torn Sumy, Russia, were evacuated through Budapest, Hungary.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission confirmed their arrival on Saturday night through its Twitter handle: @ NigeriaGov.
NiDCOM stated that the evacuees boarded Flight AZM2351 with AzmanAir from Budapest, Hungary.
It stated that the evacuees arrived at the Nnamdi International Airport at 8.50 p.m local time, of which the majority of the returnees are the #SumyStudents from Ukraine.
“Returnees are getting $100 transport fare from the Federal Government of Nigeria, free SIM cards loaded with 5,000 Naira airtime to allow them to reach their family members courtesy of a partnership between NiDCOM and MTN,” one of the tweets read.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that many Nigerians and other nationals have fled Ukraine into nearby countries since Russia launched a full-scale war on its neighbour on Feb. 24.
The Nigerian government approved the release of 8.5 million dollars for the immediate evacuation of at least 5,000 Nigerians fleeing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict zone to Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.