Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Federal Government has issued a stern warning to Nigerians living in the Middle East to prioritize personal safety over curiosity, specifically cautioning against the dangerous trend of rushing outdoors to film missile strikes for social media.
The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, gave the warning during an interview with Channel Network Afrique (CNA) in Abuja.
He said that despite active hostilities and closed airspaces, some citizens have been observed putting themselves at risk to capture footage of the escalations.
He further clarified that the threat includes not just falling shrapnel but the potential for unexploded warheads to cause massive structural damage upon impact.
Regarding the possibility of bringing Nigerians home, Ebienfa noted that the federal government is monitoring the situation but is currently hamstrung by logistics adding that the government is in constant communication with missions in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Israel, and Jerusalem to prepare for any potential humanitarian window that might allow for safe passage.
The Ministry’s Image maker, however, reiterated call for the United States, Israel, and Iran to exercise maximum restraint, expressing concern that the crisis could escalate into a conflict the world would not want to witness.
With many Nigerians currently in Saudi Arabia for Umrah and thousands more working in the Gulf’s oil and medical sectors, the government emphasized that any further degeneration of the crisis would have a significant human cost.
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