Sudan: Trapped Nigerian students decry shoddy evacuation as bus drivers stopped trip midway over money

Nigerian students trapped in Sudan following clashes between rival military forces have decried the shoddy evacuation arrangements by the Federal Government’s officials.

The students, who are being evacuated to Egypt from where they would be airlifted to Nigeria in a video posted on Twitter by a user with the handle @JaypeeGeneral on Thursday, lamented the poor treatment they have been subjected to by the officials handling the exercise.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Wednesday that the federal government had spent $1.2 million to evacuate Nigerians from the war-torn country to Egypt.

He said the funds covered the deployment of 40 buses to convey Nigerians from Sudan to Egypt.

About 500 people had been killed since the fighting began between two military units loyal to the Sudan de-facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his estranged deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, last week.

Read also:China deploys navy to evacuate citizens from war-torn Sudan

In the video, @Jaypee said they were abandoned in the desert as the drivers of the buses conveying them refused to continue with the journey unless they were paid the balance of their money.

She added that they have been abandoned by the officials in the desert with no food, no money and no basic amenities for their comfort despite the federal government’s approval of $1.2 million for their evacuation.

In a tweet that accompanied the video, the user wrote: “Sudan Evacuation: Nigerians stranded in the desert as bus drivers have not been paid. What happened to $1.2m released for this evacuation? This is not good at all.”

Sudan Evacuation: Nigerians stranded in the desert as bus drivers have not been paid. What happened to $1.2m released for this evacuation? This is not good at all. pic.twitter.com/YmYJTg2UTt

— Jaypee (@JaypeeGeneral) April 27, 2023

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