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Russia-Ukraine crisis: FG directs fleeing Nigerians to four Polish borders, over 100 escape war

Published

3 years ago

February 27, 2022

Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa

Amid Russian military’s continued invasion of Ukraine on the orders of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the Federal Government has directed Nigerians fleeing Ukraine to four Polish borders for their safety.

Some officials at the Nigerian Embassy in Poland, Warsaw, confirmed to Sunday PUNCH that over 100 Nigerians had crossed into the Polish border.

The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a viral video on Saturday said out of the eight borders between Poland and Ukraine, four had been recommended for Nigerians to use.

She also advised Nigerians to move in groups so they could account for one another in the journey towards the border. She asked those in Eastern Ukraine to endeavour to move closer to the border, especially Western Ukraine, through train or bus.

She cautioned that moving towards the border could come with its own dangers, but that it was important for affected Nigerians to keep their passports and their student visa as they ply the routes towards the border.

Dabiri-Erewa added, “For Nigerians in Ukraine trying to cross to Poland, there are eight borders between Poland and Ukraine, four borders are recommended; these are the four borders: Hrebenne – Rava Ruska; Korczowa – Krakovets; Medyka – Shehyni; Budomierz – Hurszew.”

She stressed that Nigerian volunteer groups as well as staff of the Nigerian Embassy would be at the borders to help them out. She noted that Nigerians in parts of Ukraine that were not directly affected by the invasion should stay where they were, adding that the commission’s website contained all relevant information, including numbers to call.

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In the advisory she issued, she stated, “Students should make every effort to get to the Ukrainian- Polish border or Ukrainian – Romanian border. It is vital that students move in groups. There is power in number. Groups should ensure that they are safe and accounted for. Students from Eastern Ukraine should make their best effort to reach a city in Western Ukraine. The closer you are to the border, the better.

“When going to the border, your options are via train or bus. Both routes come with risk factors. Trains from Lviv to the Polish border are free. However, there are many people trying this route. Do not be discouraged but try your best to enter the right train. Coaches/buses from Lviv can take you to Poland. You will need to have all your documentation with you. Please continue to stay in groups. Keep your passports and student visa on you at all times.”

Similarly, a public notice by the Embassy of Nigeria in Warsaw, Poland, assured Nigerians that the government had made necessary arrangements with the Polish government in order to ease the admission of Nigerians into Poland.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Poland, Christian Ugwu, stated, “The embassy staff and volunteers are stationed at the Polish – Ukrainian Border with bus and vans to pick up Nigerians from the border points.”

Some embassy officials told one of our correspondents on Saturday evening that the embassy was in the process of moving Nigerians from the borders to the Poland’s capital city.

An official said, “What we are currently working on is to get Nigerians from the crowded borders to safety in Warsaw. Too many people are moving into the country from Ukraine, including Nigerians and other nationalities.”

Another credible source at the Nigerian Embassy in Warsaw said although he could not ascertain the total number of Nigerians that had moved from Ukraine into Poland, estimates showed that there were over 100 of them.

He added, “We cannot ascertain the total number of Nigerians that have entered Poland from Ukraine at the moment, however, from our observation, we could infer that there are hundreds of them scattered across the various borders between Poland and Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, in addition to the efforts made by the Federal Government on the issue, officials of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Poland, also noted that no fewer than 100 Nigerians have made their way through the Polish borders.

The Chairperson of NIDOP, Dr Tade Omotosho, said the organisation was working closely with the Federal Government to accommodate Nigerians who had successfully crossed the border.

He said in a brief phone interview with one of our correspondents that the government had established an arrangement that had given Nigerians in Ukraine access to Poland.

He added, “As I speak to you I have about 20 (Nigerians) in my house. By my count, there are still 20 that I know but there are still more. It is tense, it is difficult but we are ensuring that every Nigerian seeking solace is being attended to.

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“Nigerians in Poland have been very helpful. The Nigerian government has been helpful, but in my opinion the response was quite late. The passports were stamped at the border; I believe they were granted entry on humanitarian grounds. We are also talking to lawyers to get them legalized (stay) in Poland.”

An official of NIDOP, Frank Okonkwo, also noted that over 100 Nigerians have crossed the border into Poland.

He said, “It is a full-blown war, we are doing our best to help our people who are stranded in Ukraine to be able to exit to Poland, Romania, Sloviakia and Moldova. I particularly advise that they should try other countries instead of Poland because the country’s (Poland) border is saturated at the moment. We have more than 150,000 refugees including Nigerians and other nationalities.

“I could say tentatively over 100 or more have been able to cross (into Poland), but some people are not staying very close to the border. Most of them are struggling to find their way to the border. A lot of them are still in Kyiv and are asking questions about how they will get to the border. It is pertinent that they use their Google map. The bombing is getting too much, else they would stranded in the city.”

He asked the Federal Government to assist the stranded citizens to book a hotel before they can get a connecting flight to Nigeria.

An executive member of NIDOP, who identified himself as Remi, also stressed that fleeing Nigerians would have to make efforts to cross from the Ukrainian side to Poland before NIDOP could pick them up.

He noted that there was no form of racial discrimination from the Ukrainian Immigration as all Africans were allowed to go through.

He added, “They were not focused on ethnicity. We discovered that at 12pm, they started giving priority to women and children which is normal during a crisis of such. Children of 16 years and below are allowed to go through.”

He noted that NIDOP had made arrangement for accommodation and feeding and that those who have crossed to Poland would be sheltered for two days after which they are expected to be on their way to Lagos.

In its response to the crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said Nigerians who were stuck in Ukraine would be evacuated through the embassy in Warsaw, Poland.

It was earlier reported that the Speaker, House of Representatives called on a private airline, Air Peace, to help in evacuating stranded students from Ukraine.

A high-rise apartment block was hit by a missile overnight in Kyiv as fighting raged between Russian attackers and Ukrainian forces, officials said Saturday.

Emergency services said the number of victims was “being specified” and that an evacuation was underway.

The Polish Deputy Interior Minister, Pawel Szefernaker, said 100,000 people have crossed the border into Poland from Ukraine.

However, Ukrainian Health Minister, Viktor Lyashko, said that 198 people, including three children, had died since the Russian invasion into the country on Thursday, February 24, adding that 1,115 people, including 33 children, were wounded.

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Fleeing citizens allege racism at bus, train stations

Meanwhile, some of the fleeing Nigerians and their relatives who spoke Sunday PUNCH have alleged racism and passport seizure by Ukrainians also trying to flee.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama, had said that while the country was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, rescuing them in the middle of the Russian aggression might be risky. He added that Ukrainian Ambassador to Nigeria, Kirdoda Valerii, assured him that there was no discrimination between Ukrainians and foreigners in the safety measures.

But some fleeing Nigerians in separate interviews with our correspondent on Saturday stated otherwise. One of them, who preferred to be identified as Omotoyinbo, said he found it difficult to enter a bus en route to the border as children, women, Ukrainians and other white people were prioritised.

“It has actually not been easy. Imagine having to struggle with racism during a war. My friends and I were trying to board a bus because the driver of the car we hired at first said he could not get to the borders. The first bus we tried boarding; we were told children and women were being prioritised until we saw white folks entering and we the black folks were left behind.

“Things are getting intense and everyone is trying to escape. This is the moment when humanity should prevail but we can’t even get out of here because of racism. Some Nigerians in Poland have contacted us but we need to get out of here first.”

Another affected person, Blessing Inyang, said, “I am stranded at Lviv train station right now.

Punch

Related Topics:borders crisis Featured FG Nigerians Polish Russia-Ukraine war

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Ex-LG chair challenges El-Rufai’s claims on council funds

Published

16 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Trends Admin

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru Ahmad El-Rufai

Ex-LG chair challenges El-Rufai’s claims on council funds

Former Secretary of the Association of Local Governments Of Nigeria (ALGON), Kaduna State chapter, Alhaji Kabiru Jarimi, has refuted ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s claim that he never interfered with Area Councils’ funds during his tenure.

Jarimi, who served under El-Rufai’s administration, described the claim as misleading, stating that funds were routinely deducted from councils’ allocations under various guises by the previous government.

The ex-ALGON State Secretary, who is also the former Chairman of Kaduna South local government, disclosed this in an interview over the weekend.

“I was shocked by El Rufai’s comment because local government funds were deducted without our approval. Most of the deductions targeted Southern Kaduna LGAs.

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“We never got our full allocations under El-Rufai. His government kept introducing policies to deduct funds unnecessarily. I even considered resigning. At times, we had no funds for overhead costs after paying salaries,” he recalled.

Jarimi, who said that El-Rufai justified the deductions as necessary to settle workers’ salaries, further noted that the state government also employed various means to withdraw additional funds.

The former Council Chairman cited the creation of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority and Kafanchan Municipal Authority as a means of shortchanging local governments.

“Salaries were shared 60–40 between the capital territories and LGs around them. In Kaduna South, deductions were made in the name of sanitation, forcing us to remit funds to the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority (KCTA) every month,” he stated.

The former Chairman further alleged that the funds of local governments outside the capital territories were also deducted without explanation, citing deductions for security and ‘riot damage.’

Ex-LG chair challenges El-Rufai’s claims on council funds

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Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Anambra

Published

16 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Trends Admin

Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Anambra

A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Stephen Echezona of St. Patrick Church, Ichida, has been reportedly abducted by gunmen in Anambra State.

According to a report by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, the incident occurred around 6:00 p.m. on Saturday when four armed men, operating in a white Lexus 330 SUV with an unknown registration number, intercepted the cleric and whisked him away along with his Toyota Highlander SUV.

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A joint team of security operatives and local vigilantes (AVG) were said to have responded swiftly to the attack, pursuing the assailants and engaging them in a gun duel at a road intersection between Oraeri and Akwaeze villages.

Though the criminals managed to escape, their Lexus SUV sustained significant damage, including a shattered rear windshield.

The Anambra Police Command is yet to release a statement on the abduction of the priest.

Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Anambra

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Adeleke University didn’t suspend Muslims for praying – MSSN

Published

16 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Trends Admin

Adeleke University didn’t suspend Muslims for praying – MSSN

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Adeleke University Branch, Ede, Osun State, has described as “fake news” a statement credited to MURIC which alleged the suspension of a Muslim student of the university over Friday prayers.

The association, in a statement signed by its Ameer, Imran Adigun AbdulHakeem, on Sunday, said MURIC’s reports circulated on social media were a misrepresentation of happenings within the university, saying “our faith is respected by the management.”

In another letter, the association apologised to the director and facilitator of the university, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Adeleke-Sanni, whom the association credited with providing a conducive atmosphere for Muslim students to practise their faith.

The letter reads: “On behalf of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Adeleke University Chapter, [I] write to address the ongoing misinformation circulating on social media and other platforms regarding the suspension of Muslim Students for praying on Campus.

“On the 14th of March, 2025, we were temporarily suspended from observing our Night Ramadan Prayers (Taraweeh) and Jummat prayers on campus on the orders of the Director of Security Service (DSS).

“However, on the 18th of March, we met with Dr. Mrs. Modupe Adeleke regarding these challenges.

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“She provided us with a place where we could observe Ramadan, Jummat prayers, and the five daily prayers which we accepted. As a result, the suspension has been lifted, and we have resumed prayers at the new location provided by the university on the orders of Dr Modupe Adeleke.

“At no time have Muslim Students been forced to change their beliefs. While challenges may arise in any diverse academic institution, the university management has always been open to dialogue, and we have continued to receive support in practicing our faith.

“Adeleke University has provided a peaceful and respectful environment for all faiths, and we continue to practice our religion freely.

“We urge the public to disregard the misinformation that may have been spread regarding this matter as they do not reflect the reality of our experiences,” the letter to the university management noted.

The letter of apology to Chief (Mrs) Dupe Adeleke-Sanni reads: “As-salamu alaykum (peace be upon you). On behalf of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Adeleke University Chapter, I apologize for any distress caused by the false social media reports.

“We assure you that we had no hand in spreading the misinformation. We are deeply grateful for your unwavering support, guidance, and kindness towards us.

“Your commitment to our well-being and academic success is invaluable, and we appreciate everything you’ve done for us. May Allah (SWT) reward you abundantly for your good deeds. Jazakumullah khairan (may Allah reward you with goodness).

“Thank you for being an exceptional Mother and mentor. We are blessed to have you,” the letter added.