The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has assured Nigerians stranded in Iran and Qatar that evacuation efforts will begin as soon as it is safe for flights to operate in the region.
Dabiri-Erewa made the statement in response to a Nigerian on X, who appealed for evacuation assistance from Qatar amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran. She confirmed that “once the airspace is safe to fly, you will be evacuated.”
Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa revealed that Nigerians willing to leave Iran were already being escorted across the Armenian border by embassy officials. She emphasized that no Nigerian in Iran has been affected by the ongoing conflict.
The evacuations come as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify following a series of US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28, 2026, which led to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and prompted retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region.
While the Nigerian community in Iran is small, mainly students and traders, the government has faced pressure to provide safe exit routes. Intermittent closures of regional airspace, including Qatar and the UAE, have stranded hundreds of Nigerian travelers.
“The Federal Government is monitoring the situation and will take all necessary steps to ensure no Nigerian life is endangered,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
