FG Intervenes On Stranded Nigerians In Dubai

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said Nigerians who are stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are currently undergoing profiling ahead of their evacuation back to the country.

This is coming hours after a viral video capturing thousands of people seated in an open area with their bags and luggage following the mass deportation carried out by the UAE authorities.

Briefing journalists in Abuja on Friday about the situation, Abike said the profiling being carried out by the Nigerian Consulate in Dubai was necessary to properly get detailed information about the Nigerians over there before evacuating them.

She said, “Immediately, the attention of the Nigerian Consulate in Dubai was drawn to the issue, Nigerians there are being profiled. Some of them have passports and some do not. There are some children that do not have any form of identification. Some do not even remember the names with which they entered the country originally. So they need to be profiled. It is also important to ensure that some have not committed a crime and they are just running.

“So, what the consulate is doing now is profiling everybody at the holding centre. Initially, at the airport, there was a fake WhatsApp message sent to everybody that there were flights that led to the rush to the airport. There were quite a lot of Africans.”

The NiDCOM chairman also explained that “It is after the profiling that the consulate will make a decision on the next step to take. The consulate and the embassy will brief the Federal Government on the next step to take.”