NEWS
Hundreds Of Nigerians Remain Stranded In Sudan
It has been more than two months since a conflict erupted in Sudan, and some Nigerians are still awaiting assistance from the national government to repatriate them from the troubled country.
Henry Akwari, a Nigerian professional footballer in Sudan, has expressed the uncertainty surrounding the situation of numerous Nigerians who are still trapped in Sudan.
Private airlines collaborated with the foreign ministry to evacuate over 3,000 Nigerians during the initial weeks of Sudan’s internal strife.
Many believed that all individuals requiring assistance had been successfully relocated from the war-ravaged nation. However, it has now come to light that a number of Nigerians are presently marooned in the country.
“I have been playing professional football in Sudan since 2016,” Akwari told The Punch on Sunday.
“I’m from Imo State, born and brought up in Lagos State. Though I have played for different teams within the past six years, I currently play for Alwadi Nyala.
“Before the war started, there was no indication and there was no announcement that there was going to be a war. It was a normal day, and as a footballer, I had to travel with my team because we had a match and the league was going on. I left the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, just a day before the war started.
“Due to the breakout of war, we couldn’t play the match we went for; we couldn’t travel, and we were stuck. The first evacuation started in Khartoum, and when this was happening, those of us outside Khartoum couldn’t come inside. That was why I was unable to come to Khartoum for the evacuation.”
The 30-year-old footballer said that he took a risk to travel from his residence in Agbara to Port Sudan because he heard that the government was evacuating Nigerians there.
Akwari said that he was not the only footballer or professional of Nigerian citizenship stuck in Port Sudan. They all missed the evacuation deadline because they had travelled from distant locations and avoided getting caught up in the violence from Khartoum.
“From the camp here and the other camps, I believe we are roughly 350. Let me not say we are more than this. Three hundred and fifty Nigerians are here; yes,” Akwari told The Punch.
“For the men, we are in the same camp, while the women are in another camp. We are all camped in an abandoned school here in Port Sudan.
“When I got here, even the embassy knew me well enough. I have tried talking to them to know what exactly the problem is, but the ambassador keeps assuring us that we will leave. Now, we know we will leave, but when exactly are we leaving? They have refused to tell us the day we are leaving. It is either they tell us that they don’t have clearance or tell us that there’s no plane or that the government has not sent funds.
“We don’t know why they kept giving us different answers. When we had a meeting with them (the embassy), they told us we would leave but they didn’t know if it would be in a month’s time or after a month. Meanwhile, we have stayed here for over a month and they are still giving us words that indicate that they don’t know when we would leave. We have lost hope. I won’t lie to you. We are just trying to be strong.”
Akwari spoke of the psychological toll the helpless situation had forced on the stranded evacuees.
He painted a painful picture of people resorting to criminality to survive within the camps.
“People are not working, and they have started to steal from one another. It is just like a fight to survive the situation. This is terrible. We also have information that ladies in their camps have started getting involved in prostitution just to ensure that they feed themselves. A lot of things are happening but people just want to survive,” Akwari said.
“Also, Port Sudan is so expensive; a bottle of water here goes for 1,000 Sudanese pounds. The item was normally sold for 300 Sudanese pounds. How do we eat and survive in this situation?
“At the moment, in Port Sudan, there’s no war. The security is tight but outside Port Sudan, there’s a terrible war going on out there and we can only pray that it doesn’t get here. We have been receiving many security alerts that they have been trying to break into Port Sudan. Last week, they caught a container filled with ammunition belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Port Sudan here. We heard they brought them (ammunition) in through the sea and all of that.
“The only thing you do is not going anywhere. It is the only way we know that our lives can be protected, because there are soldiers everywhere. Some of us ran out of the war zone without our passports and walking around in the war zone without that is at your own risk. Anything can happen at any time, and it is not safe. The only thing we do is that we pray more and try to stay together all the time. That’s what we do.
“The ambassador had a lengthy talk (a few days ago) and his last word was that the embassy was with us, the Nigerian Government was with us and we would go home, but he did not tell us when we would go home. That was the last conversation.”
Following observed mis-steps, the Federal Government of Nigeria has withdrawn the eight-count criminal charge brought against the alleged fake Director General (DG) of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Biztellers reports that the matter, in accordance with the counsel of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, (SAN), the matter will be filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), instead of the Federal High Court (FHC).
Consequently, upon an unopposed application for termination by the prosecution counsel and Director of the Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), on Monday, Justice Mohammed Umar of a Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday, struck out the matter.
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In a motion for the termination of the charges, Oyedepo informed the court that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice has carried out a review of the case file of Adeyemi and the charge filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and found some loopholes.
The DPPF added that the documents allegedly forged by Adeyemi during his operations of the fake agency are those that can be prosecuted by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He also informed the court that a new charge has been filed at the High Court of the FCT and that Adeyemi would be expeditiously arraigned afresh.
He therefore urged the judge to strike out the charge as required by law.
Following no objections from Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), who stood in for Adeyemi, Justice Umar subsequently terminated the charge.
Adeniyi, 38, was being tried alongside two others whose whereabouts are unknown, on charges bordering on conspiracy and forgery.
The two others said to be at large were identified as Femi (surname unknown) and Anu (surname unknown).
The charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/25/2025, was entered against the defendant by the DPPF.
To secure a bright energy for her teeming population, Nigeria must sustain the momentum of reform, accelerate investment, and deepen partnerships.
This view was expressed by Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited (SNEPCo) Ronald Adams in Lagos at the weekend.
Delivering a keynote address at the Africa Energy Conference (AEC) of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Adams called for regulatory certainty through efficient execution of reforms, sustained investment appeal to enable projects to move more swiftly from opportunity to production and partnership by operators, regulators, NNPC Limited and communities to unlock the full value of Nigeria’s resources.
Adams cited Nigeria’s huge oil and gas resources as an advantage but pointed out: “Resources alone do not guarantee prosperity. Prosperity comes when resources are matched with investment, technology, sound policy and disciplined execution. Success will be determined not by the size of our resources, but by our ability to convert them into investment and economic growth.”
Adams pledged the support of Shell towards a bright energy future of Nigerians. He said: “For more than six decades, Shell has been part of Nigeria’s energy journey. Together with our partners, we have helped develop major energy infrastructure, supported Nigerian businesses, invested in talent, and contributed to economic development. Bonga remains a powerful example of what technology, partnership and Nigerian capability can achieve in deepwater operations. Today, that story continues through Bonga North.”
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Issuing a clarion call for action by all stakeholders, he added: “The world is not standing still. Capital is moving, technology is advancing and competition is intensifying. The countries that attract investment tomorrow are those that improve competitiveness today. Nigeria has begun that journey. Our task is to sustain the momentum and translate reform into projects, projects into growth, and growth into shared prosperity.”
The conference, the 4th in the series had at its theme; “Securing Nigeria’s Energy Future: Policy Reform, Capital Mobilisation, and Pathways to a Sustainable Power and Energy Market” and was attended by top government officials, industry captains, energy professionals, and students.
Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat represented Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the guest of honour. SNEPCo was a principal sponsor of the Africa Energy Conference (AEC) and mounted a well-received exhibition on its deepwater operations and social investments across Nigeria.
Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has flagged off the disbursement of ₦689.79 million in bursary payments to 19,318 continuing students across 97 institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The disbursement follows a 100 per cent increase in academic bursary rates, marking the first adjustment since 2007.
The latest payment forms part of the state government’s broader investment in education and student welfare, with cumulative bursary disbursements and related student awards under the administration reaching ₦3.29 billion.
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More than 174,000 beneficiary payments have been recorded across successive payment cycles.
Increased Allowances for Veterinary and Law Students
Under the revised scholarship support framework, allowances for Veterinary Medicine students have increased by 150 per cent for students in the 300 and 400 levels and by 200 per cent for those in the 500 and 600 levels.
Support for Nigerian Law School students and academic excellence awards has also continued.
The state government has also approved a scholarship programme for 1,700 students, with 50 beneficiaries drawn from each of the state’s 34 local government areas.
The programme is designed to support tuition fees, registration and other educational expenses.
₦6bn Scholarship Trust Fund
The government has made provision for ₦6 billion in seed funding for a scholarship trust fund intended to strengthen educational financing.
The fund is expected to support specialised scholarship opportunities in fields including engineering, medicine, Artificial Intelligence and mechatronics.
The state’s foreign scholarship initiatives have also supported 118 students studying Medicine, Artificial Intelligence and Bioengineering in Egypt, Ethiopia and China, with approved educational and living expenses covered by the government.
More Scholarship Opportunities
Other educational support initiatives include 34 maritime scholarship beneficiaries and seven students receiving 50 per cent financial support at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.
The state has also nominated 34 candidates for MBBS studies in Russia, identified 70 prospective master’s degree candidates and selected 10 candidates for Qur’anic Sciences scholarships in Ghana.
These initiatives form part of the state’s broader efforts to expand access to education across different fields and levels of study.
Scholarship Board Strengthens Accountability
The Katsina State Scholarship Board has also strengthened its application, verification and payment systems.
As part of its accountability measures, the board interviewed more than 14,925 fresh applicants and returned approximately ₦86 million in unclaimed funds to the state government.
The state also acknowledged the contributions of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in expanding access to educational financing and digital learning resources.
Radda Inaugurates Tinubu/Dikko Education Beneficiary Network
As part of the activities, Radda inaugurated the Tinubu/Dikko Education Beneficiary Network (TDEBNET), a voluntary organisation comprising parents and beneficiaries of educational programmes.
Members of the organisation expressed support for the re-election bids of Radda and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
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