Nigeria’s government has successfully repatriated back home over 150 stranded Nigerians in Russia.
155 out of 230 Nigerian football fans who were stranded in Russia after the 2018 FIFA World Cup arrived in Abuja on Friday night.
The stranded football fans arrived in Abuja in an Ethiopian Airline flight, according to local media Punch.
They travelled to Russia to watch the world cup to support their national team. They however had plans of securing jobs in Russia only to be disappointed.
Nigeria were eliminated from the games at the group stages and these supporters should have returned home by now.
Their failure to return home early left them stranded without help.
There were pictures of some of them sleeping in the open close to the Nigerian Embassy in Russia. The pictures went viral on social media.
Some also spent days sleeping at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. A Russian NGO is said to be providing some assistance to these Nigerians.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson Garba Shehu on Tuesday said in a statement that the foreign and aviation ministries has “taken the necessary actions to bring the Nigerians back”.
Some of these fans also claimed to have been tricked into buying football World Cup passes to travel to Russia.
They had bought Fan IDs, which served as visas for the duration of the tournament for $700 in the hope of securing professional football contracts.
Some also said their travel agencies cancelled their return flights and pocketed the cash.
Source: Africafeeds.com
