TheCable

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has described the commitments of the federal government to evacuate students trapped in crisis-ridden Sudan as fake.

In a statement on Friday, Auwal Rafsanjani, executive director of CISLAC,  said the situation had forced students to take matters into their own hands.

Rafsanjani faulted the government for “failing” in its constitutional responsibility to ensure that citizens’ rights were protected internally and externally, adding that the students may start dying if nothing was done to address the situation.

Rafsanjani stressed that the government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the rights of the citizens are protected internally and externally.

“Other smaller countries have succeeded in evacuating their subjects in Sudan, if a country like Uganda can evacuate their citizens, what is our government waiting for?” Rafsanjani said.

“We believe that if their children are involved, they would have taken swift actions to evacuate them, but these are children from poor homes, that is why excuses are being given.

“We are worried that people are hungry and there is no concrete information from either the embassy or the committee in charge of the buses.

“People are sitting outside under high temperatures. The temperature is so high that people are thirsty. Nowhere to find water to drink or buy food to eat.

“We are worried that students are contributing the little they have to pay for their transportation to neighbouring countries which is very risky and dangerous because the government has made fake promises to provide transportation to evacuate them.

“This clearly shows that the Nigerian leaders appear not to care about their citizens and their safety.”

Rafsanjani called on state governors whose subjects are trapped in Sudan to help to evacuate them immediately.

He further appealed to private individuals and private organisations to support the evacuation of students and asked the presidency “to take necessary steps by liaising with African Union and other international bodies to ensure amicable resolution of the Sudan crisis”.

The first batch of evacuated students were expected to arrive in the country on Friday.

However, NiDCOM said they, alongside other nationals, were stranded at the Egypt border since Thursday over visa issues.