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About 1,000 Nigerians have been evacuated from Cote d’Ivoire since mutinous soldiers launched an uprising against the government on 19 September, officials of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Thursday.
They said the returnees had been taken back to Nigeria in batches in the past two weeks, with the last group arriving on 27 October. Most of the returnees had been living in the rebel-held cities of Bouake and Korhogo.
"Some had lived in Cote d’Ivoire for more than 20 years," a NEMA official told IRIN.
According to the officials, those who have not been able to trace their relatives have been given temporary accommodation at Iyana Ipaja, on the outskirts of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. NEMA said it was providing them with food and medical assistance pending their return to their home regions.
The Nigerian government said up to two million of its citizens were resident in Cote d’Ivoire. Only those who had indicated their willingness to return were being considered in the evacuation plans, the officials said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
