TheCable

Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, says the evacuation of the stranded Nigerian students in  Sumy State University (SumDU), Ukraine, will start on Monday, March 7.

TheCable had reported how some Nigerians in the university staged a protest on Saturday, appealing for immediate evacuation from the country.

Several SumDU students have been unable to leave the city due to the blockade of the access routes.

A male student had said he and his friend decided to use their private car to get out of the city but ran into Russian soldiers who shot at them.

He said the Russian troops were advancing towards Sumy.

The foreign affairs minister had responded to their appeal, noting that Nigeria had requested the immediate implementation of Ukraine’s evacuation process for the students.

Giving an update on Sunday, the minister said approval has been given for the evacuation of the students.

1/2 Deep gratitude to @DmytroKuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine for approval given, as promised, to establish humanitarian corridor and authorize evacuation of Nigerian students from Sumy starting tomorrow.

— Geoffrey Onyeama (@GeoffreyOnyeama) March 6, 2022

He, however, noted the challenge of procuring buses to facilitate the movement of the students out of the city.

“Deep gratitude to @DmytroKuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine for approval given, as promised, to establish humanitarian corridor and authorize evacuation of Nigerian students from Sumy starting tomorrow,” Onyeama said in a Twitter post.

“The big challenge is procuring buses. We are doing everything to make it happen. Great commitment by Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine, Shina Alege.”

As part of efforts to get Nigerians out of Ukraine, the federal government approved $8.5 million for their evacuation.

The evacuation process started on Wednesday and four batches of Nigerians have since arrived in the country.