Lebanon crisis: FG delays evacuation plan for Nigerians

T Three weeks into a tense crisis in Lebanon, the Federal Government is yet to finalise efforts to bring citizens home, PUNCH Online gathered on Wednesday.

Despite initial announcements of an evacuation plan, the process has stalled, leaving Nigerians in Lebanon stranded.

The evacuation efforts were initiated in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East after Iran’s missile attacks on Israel on October 1, 2024.

However, low registration numbers and reluctance among Nigerians in Lebanon complicated the process.

The current crisis began when Iran launched a barrage of 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel, in retaliation for the assassination of Iran-backed militant leaders.

The missile attack, which targeted key sites in Israel, sent Israelis scrambling to shelters, raising concerns of a wider regional conflict.

Although the Israeli Defense Forces managed to intercept many of the missiles, the incident heightened instability in the region, including Lebanon, which borders Israel and has its internal security challenges.

The attacks have drawn international attention, with many nations closely monitoring the situation and some initiating contingency plans for their citizens in the region.

The Federal Government, recognising the potential danger to its citizens living in Lebanon, quickly began preparations for an evacuation, even as uncertainty about the conflict’s scope looms.

Following the missile strikes, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, issued an alert on October 1 via X.com, urging all Nigerians in Lebanon to get in touch with the Nigerian embassy in Beirut for profiling, documentation, and potential evacuation.

On October 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that while there are over 2,000 Nigerians residing in Lebanon, only about 500 had registered with the Nigerian embassy in Beirut.

In response to the situation, the Federal Government activated its emergency evacuation protocols, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinating efforts alongside the National Emergency Management Agency, the Department of State Services, and other key agencies.

These agencies worked closely with the Nigerian mission in Lebanon to ensure that citizens who wished to be evacuated were safely brought home.

The ministry said plans were already in place to deploy military aircraft, including a C-130, or other available flights for the operation.

Giving updates on whether the Federal Government would evacuate the Nigerians in Lebanon despite the reduced tension in the country, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Eche Abu-Obe, simply stated that the “situation is under observation.”