The Federal Government has said it is investigating the cancellation of the visas of all 264 passengers, who were airlifted to Jeddah from Lagos and Kano on Sunday, by the Saudi Arabian authorities.
Tribune had earlier reported that Saudi Arabia had cancelled the visas of all 264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, on arrival in Jeddah from Kano and insisted that the airline return them to Nigeria.
The flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday night and arrived in Saudi Arabia’s major city today without issues. Still, on landing, the Saudi Arabian authorities announced that all the passenger’s visas were cancelled.
The source said that all the passengers and the airline personnel were shocked at the cancellation of the visas because, during check-in, the passengers went through the Advanced Passengers Prescreening System (APPS), which was also monitored by the Saudi Arabian authorities before the flight left Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a statement signed by the Special Assistant and Media Strategy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, Alkasim Abdulkadir, disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the matter to see if any consular or aviation rules have been flouted.
“The Ministry will ensure such actions that impact the welfare of Nigerian citizens are mitigated in the future in line with the 4 Ds strategy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nigeria has just participated in the Saudi-Africa Summit, where bilateral discussions covering several sectors of the economy and mutually beneficial commitments were made.” The statement further reads.
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