Richard Anyebe
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has dismissed the rumours of ethnic bias during the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Sudan.
NIDCOM debunked the rumours in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun on Tuesday.
Some Igbo students in Sudan claimed that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has shown bias in the evacuation of Nigerians from the war-torn country.
A video that went viral on social media showed some stranded Igbo students with their luggages, accusing the federal government of discrimination in the evacuation process.
In the video, a narrator claimed that he boarded one of the evacuation buses on Saturday but was ordered to come down.
He, therefore, sought help from prominent Igbo personalities for their evacuation.
But, according to Balogun, the rumours were a fabricated lie, which was not verified or cross-checked, describing the allegation as the height of rascality and mischief.
The commission also disclosed that everyone converged on the prescribed locations, were picked up, and had all been moved in 40 buses either toward Port Sudan or Egyptian borders.
The statement was titled, ‘Re: South-East Coalition accusation of ethnic bias on-boarding of citizens stranded in Sudan: a wicked lie, Abuja: Tuesday, May 2, 2023.’
It partly read, “It has come to the attention of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission of a fabricated lie from the pit of hell that the Chairman/ CEO, Hon. (Dr) Abike Dabiri- Erewa, prevented some Nigerians, especially of the South-East extraction from boarding buses hired by the Federal Government to evacuate stranded Nigerians from the war-torn Khartoum in Sudan.
“The ridiculous allegation which was first published by one Chukwujekwu Ilozue of the Daily Independent Newspapers on May 1, 2023, and syndicated by ThisDay Newspapers, Nigerian Tribune online, and other online media, is the height of rascality and mischief.
“The said group never bothered to cross-check the sponsored false story on Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa or get her own side of the story before spreading the falsehood all over the media in the spirit of fairness, balancing, and objectivity.
“The allegation by the faceless group, a Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, signed by one Hon Goodluck Ibem against the indefatigable Abike Dabiri -Erewa who was busy coordinating the two-day conference of Global African Diaspora Symposium, with 64 countries in attendance in Abuja, is most wicked, divisive and a ridiculous fabrication.
“Reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff on the ground in Khartoum indicated that when the boarding of buses began, the situation was so chaotic that some people (including Non-Nigerians) jumped in violently, some with daggers, through the windows.
“To bring sanity and to abide by the instruction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs that priority should be given to women, children, and students the officials started calling them according to states in an alphabetical order, beginning with Abia State.”
PRESS STATEMENT
Re: South East Coalition accusation of ethnic bias on boarding of citizens stranded in Sudan: a wicked lie
Abuja: Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
It has come to the attention of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) of a fabricated lie from the pit of hell that…
— Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (@nidcom_gov) May 2, 2023
In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that the Delta State Police Command says it has killed one suspected kidnapper and arrested three others with severe gunshot injuries in Ughelli, Warri.
The command disclosed this in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Bright Edafe, and posted on its Twitter handle on Tuesday.
