By Babs Oyetoro
Some Nigerian citizens have begun leaving Iran through neighbouring Armenia under the supervision of officials of the Federal Government as the security situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate.
The development was confirmed on Wednesday by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who disclosed that Nigerian embassy officials in Tehran had started escorting willing Nigerians across the Iranian–Armenian border to safety.
The confirmation was contained in a statement issued by NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocol, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
According to Dabiri-Erewa, the evacuation through a land route became necessary following the closure of airspace across several Middle Eastern countries, which has made evacuation flights unsafe and largely impossible for now.
She explained that officials of the Nigerian embassy in Iran are currently stationed at the border to guide Nigerians seeking safe passage out of the country.
“Willing Nigerians are being escorted across the Armenian border by officials of the Nigerian embassy in Iran for safe passage,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
She added that no Nigerian citizen has so far been harmed as a result of the ongoing hostilities in the region.
The development comes amid growing concerns among Nigerians stranded across parts of the Middle East following the closure of regional airspace triggered by escalating hostilities involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Several travellers, including Nigerians in transit hubs such as Qatar, had earlier taken to social media to express frustration over delays in evacuation and what they described as limited diplomatic response.
Responding to the complaints earlier, Dabiri-Erewa explained that evacuation flights could not commence because the region’s airspace remained unsafe for aircraft operations.
“As for repatriation flights, the skies are currently unsafe to fly. Once the airspace opens, the Federal Government’s multi-agency crisis and evacuation team is on standby,” she said.
The regional crisis intensified after Iran launched retaliatory strikes following alleged missile operations by the United States from a military base in Qatar, further escalating tensions with Israel.
Since late February, missile exchanges and military alerts have spread across parts of the Middle East, prompting several countries including Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar to shut their airspace.
The closures disrupted international travel across the region, leaving thousands of foreign nationals, including Nigerians, stranded.
While the exact number of Nigerians affected across the conflict
