Headline

Sudan: Nigerians Stranded In Desert, Lament After buses’ Fuel Finished

Published

2 years ago

April 27, 2023

Editor

…said we might face the war again

Nigerians are currently stranded on the journey from Khartoum to Cairo after the drivers of the buses paid to evacuate them complained that their fuel finished and that Federal Government has not remunerated them for the service.

As of the time of filing this report at 2:20 pm, our correspondent gathered that none of the Embassy officials are on the ground to explain to stranded Nigerians, especially the students why the drivers have stopped the buses over their claim.

The PUNCH reports that the evacuation of 2,400 students and other Nigerians trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan took off on a slow start on Wednesday as only 15 out of the 40 buses required for the exercise were provided.

Although the Federal Government hired 40 buses for the repatriation of the citizens from Khartoum and other cities to Egypt, only 10 buses were available as of Wednesday morning, while additional five buses were provided later in the day (Wednesday).

Speaking with The PUNCH on Thursday, some students fear that the three-day ceasefire declared by the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Force expires Thursday (today) and they are yet to make buses available.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah, stated “People are hungry and there is no concrete information from either the Embassy or the Committee in charge of the buses.

“People are sitting outside under high temperatures. The temperature is very high that people are thirsty. Nowhere to find water to drink or buy food to eat.

“In the next two to three days, if nothing is done to address this situation, Nigerian students might start dying.”

A female student who spoke on anonymity noted, “We are 150 females mostly from Jigawa and we are stranded. The Embassy said they are not sending buses to us.

“The bus owners have been complaining that they do not have fuel but we are not even seeing the buses. They are not ready to release any of the buses because people are running away from the country.

“Today is the last day of the ceasefire. We woke up to gunshots this morning. If we do not leave here today, I do not know what becomes of us.”

In a video sighted, a student was seen crying and saying “Because your family, children, and nephews are on the bus, that is why we are left behind. We are afraid. We do not have water, hunger, and food. These soldiers, their barracks are very close to us here, (International University of Africa). There have been gunshots since last night. No one is here for us.”

The President of the Jigawa State Students Association in Sudan, Umar Abubakar said he has been out since 5 am waiting for a bus to evacuate them.

Abubakar noted, “We are disappointed in everything. We are outside under the sun since 5 am waiting for the buses, not even one official from the embassy is around. Those people are just playing us along.”

He added that those who were evacuated from Khartoum to Egypt have been stranded since yesterday (Wednesday) at a border between Sudan and Egypt.

Abubakar said, “Even those that left for Egypt yesterday are now stranded on their way because the drivers said they have not been paid and that they are not moving an inch until they are paid, or else they will drop the students there and return.”

Confirming this, a student of Noble College in Sudan, Idris Wakama, said “The drivers dropped our students in the middle of the desert. We do not know what is happening. They collected $100 from some of our students on the buses. The Federal Government needs to address the situation quickly.”

In a video obtained by our correspondent, students were stranded long frustrated in a quiet and desert environment.

A female was seen yelling, “Before we started this journey, we fought and now that we have the privilege of moving, the drivers dropped us in the middle of this desert. We have been stuck here for five hours.

“We do not have money nor water. We are in an unknown environment and it is very dangerous.”

Headline

FULL LIST: Nigeria Emerges As Africa’s Third Most Formidable Military Force

Published

5 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Editor

Nigeria has secured the third position among African nations with the most formidable military forces in the 2025 Global Firepower Military Strength Index, according to Global Firepower’s annual report cited by The PUNCH on Monday.

The index evaluates 145 countries based on over 60 metrics, including troop numbers, equipment capabilities, financial resources, logistical efficiency, and geographical advantages to assess military strength.

In the 2025 rankings, Egypt maintains its lead as Africa’s top military power, followed by Algeria in second place and South Africa in fourth. Nigeria’s rise to third underscores its growing military capabilities, driven by investments in personnel, equipment, and counter-terrorism efforts.

Here is a list of African countries ranked in the 2025 Global Firepower Index.

1. Egypt (19)

2. Algeria (26)

3. Nigeria (31)

4. South Africa (40)

5. Ethiopia (52)

6. Angola (56)

7. Morocco (59)

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo (66)

9. Sudan (73)

10. Libya (76)

11. Kenya (83)

12. Chad (84)

13. Mozambique (89)

14. Tunisia (90)

15. Tanzania (92)

16. Cameroon (93)

17. Ivory Coast (102)

18. Mali (104)

19. Zambia (109)

20. Ghana (110)

21. Zimbabwe (111)

22. South Sudan (113)

23. Uganda (114)

24. Namibia (116)

25. Niger (119)

26. Eritrea (120)

27. Republic of the Congo (121)

28. Botswana (122)

29. Mauritania (123)

30. Senegal (125)

31. Burkina Faso (129)

32. Madagascar (130)

33. Gabon (133)

34. Liberia (138)

35. Sierra Leone (140)

36. Somalia (142)

37. Central African Republic (143)

38. Benin (144)

Headline

Middle East Crisis Dominates EU Foreign Ministers’ Brussels Meeting

Published

5 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Editor

The foreign ministers of EU member states on Monday were set to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East at their June meeting in Brussels.

The talks come amid growing international alarm after the United States joined Israel in launching strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

A key question for the ministers will be whether Europe can help steer the crisis back towards diplomacy.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Sunday urged all sides “to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” in a statement posted on X.

Headline

US Says Strikes ‘Devastated’ Iran’s Nuclear Program

Published

21 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday as Washington sought to assess what remained of the three targeted sites.

The surprise strikes threaten to deepen conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against US involvement.

But the United States said President Donald Trump wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth said. “This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change.”

Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

“Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” he told reporters.

– Protests in Tehran –

People gathered in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed.

Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning.

“We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it’s years or beyond,” he told ABC.

“We’re not at war with Iran — we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “The president took decisive action to destroy that program last night.”

In Tehran, AFP journalists said the roar of aircraft flying over the city was heard repeatedly for the first time since Israel’s initial attacks.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line,” asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.”

The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site.

The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings, Caine said.

– Global concern –

In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded.

In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war.

“Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.

Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.

The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory.”

Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and urged de-escalation.

The European Union called on all sides “to step back,” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships.

The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”