November 14, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government on Tuesday, is investigating the cancellation of visas of 264 passengers by Saudi authorities.
THEWILL reports that authorities in Saudi Arabia on Monday asked an Air Peace aircraft with 264 passengers to return to Nigeria after it arrived in Jeddah.
The flight, which took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived in Jeddah on Monday.
While all 264 passengers went through the Advanced Passengers Information System (APIS) during the check-in formalities in Nigeria, a clearance was also monitored by the Saudi Authorities; only 87 were allowed to remain in Jeddah and 177 returned to Nigeria after intervention by the Nigerian embassy.
Responding to the development, Special Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Al-Kasim Abdulkadir in a statement, said the the Ministry has opened investigations into the incident to see if any consular or aviation rules have been flouted.
According to the Ministry, Nigeria has just participated in the Saudi-Africa summit, where bilateral discussions covering several sectors of the economy and mutually beneficial commitments were made between the two countries.
