Evacuation of Nigerian students currently trapped in Ukraine’s Sumy State University will begin on Monday, 7th March, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
Nigerians in the university had staged a protest calling on the Nigerian government to come to their rescue, as Russian troops advanced closer to the state.
Their routes to connect to other cities dubbed relatively safer were also blocked. Some of the revelations made by students who attempted to leave the city said some Nigerians who attempted to leave the city in their private cars were shot at by Russian soldiers.
The Minister in his response to the appeals said the Nigerian government had requested an instant evacuation process for the students.
In a tweet on Sunday, Onyeama confirmed that their request has been granted by the Ukraininian government.
He also added that the challenge is the procurement of buses to transport the students out of the city.
“Deep gratitude to Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine for approval given, as promised, to establish humanitarian corridor and authorize evacuation of Nigerian students from Sumy starting tomorrow.
“The big challenge is procuring buses. We are doing everything to make it happen. Great commitment by Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine, Shina Alege, ” he tweeted.
Recall that the Nigerian government had approved $8.5m for the evacuation of the students. Since Wednesday when the evacuation began, four batches of students have arrived Nigeria.