The fifth batch of Nigerian returnees from Ukraine arrived early Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. They arrived on Air Peace, one of the airlines airlifting Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine.
According to the federal government, a total of 123 Nigerians were evacuated on the fifth flight. They were airlifted from Poland where they had fled following the war in Ukraine.
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.
Last week, 1078 evacuees arrived in Nigeria through Max Air and Air Peace, the two airlines designated to airlift Nigerians returning from Ukraine.
Geoffrey 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.”
The federal government last Wednesday approved $8.5 million for the evacuation of 5,000 stranded Nigerians.
Two weeks into the crisis, Russia and Ukraine are 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.