Many of the Nigerians had reportedly travelled to Saudi Arabia to go on a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca (file photo)Image caption: Many of the Nigerians had reportedly travelled to Saudi Arabia to go on a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca (file photo)
A row has emerged over Saudi Arabiaâs repatriation of 177 Nigerians on Monday, shortly after their arrival at the airport in Jeddah.
Saudi authorities reportedly abruptly revoked the Nigeriansâ visas mid-flight for unknown reasons, but cleared the 87 others on the 264-passenger Air Peace flight.
Saudi Arabiaâs embassy in Nigeria on Wednesday said that the repatriated passengers did not âfulfil the entry conditionsâ and âsubmitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that doesnât apply to them, which was discovered upon their arrivalâ.
But Air Peace has disputed Saudi Arabia’s statement, saying on Wednesday that the visas of all passengers were “vetted to be valid” using Saudi Arabiaâs verification systems before check-in.
The airline added that it had sent the passenger manifest to Saudi authorities before departure but they did not cancel any visa or raise any concerns at the time.
On Tuesday, Nigeriaâs foreign affairs ministry said that 18 of the repatriated Nigerians were denied entry as they had criminal records and were banned from the country.
Many of the repatriated Nigerians had reportedly travelled to go on a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca.