Stranded Nigerians in France to come in through Cotonou

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has said that Nigerians stranded in France, could fly to Cotonou, Benin Republic.

He said they could thereafter enter Nigeria through the land borders.

He stated this at the Presidential Task Force press briefing in Abuja on Friday, where he also explained why Nigerians who were evacuated from the United Kingdom were stranded at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos for about four hours while waiting to be moved to Abuja for their compulsory quarantine.

The minister, who apologised to the Nigerians, said the delay was caused by the refusal of the British Airways crew to fly them to Abuja because the British nationals they were billed to fly back to Heathrow Airport were in Lagos.

The about 255 Nigerians, who were flown into Lagos from London on account of the COVID-19, were reportedly kept inside the plane for a long time, leading to protests by the evacuees.

Explaining the circumstances surrounding the incident, Onyema said: “The challenge we had with the flight is that we had wanted it to come directly to Abuja because that is where the passengers are supposed to be quarantined, but the British (Airways) insisted that the people they wanted to take back to the UK were in Lagos and for them to fly down to Abuja would exceed the balance for the pilot and so this put us in a very awkward position. This (evacuation) involved a lot of coordination; unfortunately, we didn’t get it right.

“This is a most regrettable situation and we apologise wholeheartedly to those passengers. The latest report I heard from Lagos is that they eventually came to Abuja where they would now be quarantined.”