160 Nigerians who were expected on Sunday to return to the country from the United States as a result of the coronavirus have landed in Abuja.
Reports say, the 160 stranded Nigerians who are the first batch of evacuees from the US comprised of 92 males, 60 females, and eight infants.
The Boeing 787 Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying the returnees arrived on Sunday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, at about 11am.
Their return to the country was made possible under the special flight arrangements by the federal government for nationals stranded abroad.
Confirming their arrival in a tweet on Sunday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama said, “ET Flight 8509 conveying 160 Nigerian evacuees from the US has safely arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.”
Onyeama disclosed that on arrival, the evacuees would be quarantined for 14 days in Abuja before leaving for their respective destinations in the country.
A British Airways Boeing 747 aircraft had evacuated 253 Nigerians from the United Kingdom on Friday while some others were brought in from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.