542 stranded Nigerians have arrived at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This was confirmed by Mr. Manzo Ezekiel, Head of the NEMA Press Unit, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.
He claims that the travellers returned at 4:29 a.m. on a Max Air chartered flight and arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The returnees, he continued, included 460 women, three newborns, and 79 men.
He noted that before receiving a token from NEMA to help with their transportation to their destinations, the returnees were screened by health experts, profiled by several relevant agencies, and cleared by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Earlier, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, Director-General, NEMA, who officially received the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government, admonished them to learn from their experiences and be law abiding citizens.
Ahmed, who was represented by the Director of Finance and Account of the agency, Mr Sani Jiba, added that the Federal Government had approved the evacuation and provision of the token to support their movement back to their various homes.
The Consul General of Nigeria in Dubai, Amb. Atinuke Mohammed, who accompanied the returnees back to the country, appreciated the Federal Government for the special intervention in the safe evacuation of the citizens.
The returnees were received by officials of NEMA, Airport officials, security agencies, National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), NAPTIP, NIDCOM, NDLEA, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Custom Service, NCDC, Port Health Services, among others.