While the agency took custody of 3,000 deportees on Tuesday, it was expecting another batch of 3,000 by late Wednesday.
The agency’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, who confirmed this said: “We just received communication from the Nigerien government that another set of 3,000 persons are being sent to us. We will be going to the border post to take custody of the people.”
Otegbade said he did not rule out the fact that the figure might be more than the 6,000, even as he added: “Before we came here, the information we received from Niger is that about 2,000 Nigerians would be delivered to us, but now see what we have on the ground.
“We are going to remain in Geidam for as long as it takes to evacuate the people back to their respective states.
“Geidam is acting as a transit town and we have two camps: one at the stadium and the other at a primary school in town.”
Otegbade disclosed that the returnees were from 10 states, Taraba, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Kano.
He maintained that arrangements were on ground to send the returnees to their respective states, even as contact had been made with the affected states Emergency Management Agencies.
The NEMA chief disclosed that most of the returnees had arrived there without any health issue, even as he added that three pregnant women in the first batch complained about minor health challenges and were taken to health facilities in Geidam.
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