Saudi Arabia has identified about 11,600 Nigerians reportedly stranded in the country, many due to the coronavirus disease, and is making plans to airlift them back home, an official has said.
The Nigerian embassy official, who is privy to the development but asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said the Saudi’s decision was contained in a letter addressed to the embassy a few weeks ago.
The source added that the list, according to the Saudis, includes Nigerians who had visited the country for umrah – a lesser hajj – and were held up by the movement restrictions introduced by Saudi authorities as part of containment measures.
The kingdom, which recorded its index coronavirus case on March 2, had initially imposed a travel ban on some neighbouring countries before extending it to include European countries and 12 others, on March 12.
