FG to investigate cancellation of 264 Nigerian passengers’ visas by Saudi Arabia
The Federal Government if Nigeria has responded to the cancellation of visas for 264 Nigerians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, upon their arrival on Monday.
The government has since initiated an investigation into the incident.
Saudi authorities had cancelled the visas of 264 Nigerians who had arrived in Jeddah from Lagos and Kano on Sunday via Air Peace.
READ ALSO: Saudi Arabia cancels visas of 264 Nigerian passengers upon arrival in Jeddah
In a statement released by the special adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Al-Kasim Abdulkadir, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was probing the matter to ascertain if any consular or aviation rules were breached, justifying the decision by the Saudi authorities.
The statement emphasized that Nigeria had recently participated in the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh, where extensive discussions and mutually beneficial commitments were made between the two countries. Despite the passengers going through the advanced passengers information system (APIS) during the check-in process in Nigeria, which was also monitored by the Saudi authorities, the turn of events came as a surprise.
Following the intervention of the Nigerian embassy, the Saudi authorities reduced the number of passengers to be returned to Nigeria from 264 to 177.
