The Nigerian government said on Monday it is investigating the cancellation of the visas of all the 264 passengers who were airlifted to Jeddah from Lagos and Kano on Sunday by the Saudi Arabian authorities.
The Nigerian citizens aboard Air Peace were denied entrance into Saudi Arabia.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now investigating the matter to see if any consular or aviation rules have been flouted, said Alkasim Abdulkadir, a media aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, in a statement on Monday.
“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 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,” the statement said.
The flight took off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, via the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday night and landed at King Abdul-Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
But to the consternation of the airline staff, the Saudi Arabian authorities announced that all the passengers’ visas had been cancelled.
This was despite the fact that the passengers went through the Advanced Passengers Information System (APIS) during the check-in formalities in Nigeria, which were also monitored by the Saudi authorities.
It was learned that it was when the Nigerian embassy waded in that Saudi authorities reduced the number of passengers that would be returned to 177 from 264.