No fewer than 542 Nigerians stranded in United Arab Emirates have been received in Nigeria by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
This was confirmed by the Head of the Press Unit of NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, via a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
According to him, the returnees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on board Max Air Charted flight at 4:29 a.m.
He added that the returnees included 79 males, 460 females and three infants.
He added that the returnees were screened by health officials, profiled by various relevant agencies and cleared by the Nigerian Immigration Service, before being given a token to aid their transportation to their destinations by NEMA.
Earlier, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, who officially received the returnees on behalf of the federal government, admonished them to learn from their experiences and be law-abiding citizens.
Mr Ahmed, who was represented by the Director of Finance and Account of the agency, Sani Jiba, added that the federal government had approved the evacuation and provision of the token to support their movement back to their various homes.
The Consul General of Nigeria in Dubai, Atinuke Mohammed, who accompanied the returnees back to the country, appreciated the federal government for the special intervention in the safe evacuation of the citizens.
The returnees were received by officials of NEMA, airport officials, security agencies, National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), NAPTIP, NIDCOM, NDLEA, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Customs Service, NCDC, Port Health Services, among others. (NAN)