Egypt Turns Back 700 Nigerians to Sudan Border for Lack of Travel Documents

A group of about 700 stranded Nigerians were sent back by the Egyptian authorities to Sudan for lack of travel documents.

The group suffered ill-luck as two out of the travelling students were discovered by Egyptian authorities to be without their passports or any travel documents from the Nigerian Embassy.

The two were believed to have sneaked into the group of passangers that were already cleared to go to the airport from the Wadi Halfa border.

This apparently annoyed the Egyptian authorities who, instead of picking out the two from the traveling group, decided to send the entire group back into crisis ridden Sudan.

They could not be persuaded against taking the harsh decision as they insisted that it was betrayal of trust since the agreement they had with Nigeria was that only people with traveling document would be allowed passage.

The last may not have be heard from the Egyptian authorities who were threatening legal action against the illegal entry of the two students whose identity were yet to be declared.

There seems to be no end in controversy as another student was said to have sneaked inside Egypt and went into thin air, this may cause greater scrutiny from the Egyptian government or cancellation of the arrangements to give fleeing Nigerians passage through the North African country, an official said.

An angry official in a voice note said the action of the two students who were found without documents would be costing the group 10 wasted man hours and money.

She said the bus would have to be paid again to convey them back to Sudan and also return them to Egypt, even as money would have to also be paid for exit and entry again.

The official appealed to parents to talk to their children to be patient, assuring them that the government would not leave anyone behind.

She said, “Our students, should be told to exercise patience. All the students that have passports were allowed to go and those who did not have passport were asked to wait and that ETC would be handed to them as a formal document to travel. 

“Out of curiosity, impatiently or what I don’t know, two students sneaked in without passport or ETC. Now they are being discovered at the Egyptian airport at Aswan. The Egyptian government are angry and all the students have to go back to Sudan. 

“They conveyed over 500 or 600 people now everybody has to go back to Sudan to get exit permit and another permit in Egypt and this will cost delay of almost 10 hours.

“Out of this confusion, another student escaped into Egypt and they cannot find him.

“What is our problem. You keep blaming the government when you don’t do the right thing. The government is slow and now that the government is fast, what have you done?

“This is very unfortunate. Along the line, I think there is a sea, you have to transport the vehicle. You have to ship the vehicle before it can get back to the border.”

She also blamed most parents for piling unnecessary pressure on the students with their complaints.

She added that: “Mind you, legal action will be taken against these two children and if that happens, nobody should approach me to intervene because I will not intervene. Let no one call me for any intervention.

“For goodness sake, I have been begging these students to be patient. Parents I keep begging you, talk to your kids, talk to your wards. Now this happened, we would be delayed for about 10 hours.

“Transporting the whole vehicle back to Sudan and we have to go through the whole processes again. We have to exit from Egypt. 

“That queue you students were complaining of you will join now. Little patience. Just at the end of everything. At Wali Halfa, there  are 60 students who don’t have passport and still waiting for ETC. This is our problem.”

She also warned the students at Port Sudan, to be careful so that the same thing does not happen to them.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

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