Russian Invasion: 150 Nigerian students still stuck in Ukraine appeal for help

*Several Nigerian students trapped in Sumy, Ukraine, are yet to find a way out of the war-torn European country, as the Russian troops reportedly escalate the war in key cities despite the recent global appeal for ceasefire

*‘We are running out of supplies. We are calling on the Nigerian Government…. We want to go home,” the students cry out

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As the Federal Government intensifies efforts at evacuating thousands of stranded Nigerians caught in the wake of the Russian-Ukraine war, about 150 Nigerian students still trapped in Sumy, Ukraine, have called for urgent evacuation back home in the West African country.

ConsumerConnect reports Sumy, in North-East Ukraine, is close to the Russian border, and the Federal Government has evacuated over 1,000 Nigerians, who had made it out of Ukraine to neighbouring countries, including Bucharest, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

Presidents Zelenskyy (Ukraine) and Putin (Russia)

However, the other Nigerian students still in Sumy are yet to find a way out of war-torn Ukraine, just as the Russian troops continue to escalate the war despite the global appeal for ceasefire, agency report said.

The students, in shared videos, said that they had dwindling access to food, water and electricity, which are regarded as some basic necessities of life, Channels TV report stated.

According to the young Nigerians, they wake up most mornings to the sounds of explosions and spend hours in bomb shelters beneath their hostels.

“We are in Sumy, and we are stuck in Sumy,” one of the students said during a protest held under snowy conditions.

“This is Day 10, people don’t have water, people don’t have light in hostels. It’s getting cold in the hostels. There is no food.

“We are running out of supplies. We are calling on the Nigerian government, on the foreign affairs ministry. We want to go home.”

Government pledges safe evacuations of affected citizens

Meanwhile, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Nigerian Government said it had activated plans to evacuate the affected citizens, who got stranded in Poland, Romania, and other neighbouring countries.

Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, February 28, 2022, had said that the government was working to evacuate some Nigerians in Sumy.

The Minister stated: “There are some Nigerians in a place called Sumy, close to the Russian border.

“About 150 of them are now looking to cross into Russia. We’ve asked the ambassador in Russia to try and get a permit for them.

“And we are hoping that by Wednesday, we can start deploying planes to start bringing back the Nigerians.”

Nigeria evacuates 807 citizens from war-raged Ukraine

Meanwhile, Nigeria has evacuated about 807 of its citizens from war-raged Ukraine as of Saturday, March 5, 2022.

The evacuees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), in Abuja, FCT, in three flights.

The first batch of 450 Nigerians stranded in Ukraine had arrived aboard Max Air flight 747 at 7:10 a.m., Friday, March 4 through Romania.

The second batch also came aboard Air Peace Boeing 777-300 flight (APK7534) and arrived in Abuja with 183 passengers including kids through Warsaw.

Whereas the third batch of 174 evacuees arrived at 11.50 p.m. Friday through Hungary.

Several Nigerians and other nationals have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on its neighbour February 24.

Subsequently, the Federal Government approved the release of $8.5million Wednesday for the immediate evacuation of at least 5,000 Nigerians fleeing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict zone to Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

The Federal Government February 28 had disclosed that Nigeria’s diplomatic mission had received 256 citizens from Ukraine at Bucharest, Hungary, Poland and Romania, following the invasion.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has been on the forefront of the evacuation.

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