The federal government has debunked claim of an ethnic bias in the evacuation of Nigerians from war-torn Sudan.
A Nigerian in the country made the claim in a video which went viral on social media. “They have come here and picked up those they picked up, leaving the rest of us who are Igbos,” the Igbo-speaking person alleged.
Responding to the claim, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francisca Omayuli stated that there is no truth in it. Omayuli who revealed that the Nigerian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, confirmed that Igbo residents were among the first batch of Nigerians evacuated to Egypt before being airlifted home, added that they’ve investigated the claim made by the Igbo-speaking Nigerian and discovered its untrue.
The ministry however admitted that there was an issue earlier over the number of buses provided.
The statement read;
“The attention of the ministry of foreign affairs has been drawn to a video making the rounds on the social media of an unidentified man with no indication of his contact details nor location, claiming that the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, refused to evacuate Igbo resident in Sudan.
“The ministry has investigated the allegation and can assure Nigerians that there is no truth whatsoever to the allegation.
“The Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum confirmed that evacuees of Igbo extraction were among the first batch of 637 Nigerians evacuated to Aswan Border, Egypt where they are presently awaiting their eventual return to Nigeria.
“It is, therefore, surprising that such a misleading allegation could be leveled against officials of the embassy who had worked tirelessly on the evacuation exercise.
“To this end, the general public is advised to disregard the allegation.”