The Saudi Arabian government cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, on arrival at the country from Kano, insisting that they be returned to Nigeria.

This is coming at a time President Bola Tinubu, is in Saudi Arabia attending the Arab-Africa summits.

Reacting last night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement by the SA Media and Communications Strategy to the minister, Alkasim Abdulkadir, said it was investigating the matter to see if any consular or aviation rule had been violated.

The ministry said it would ensure actions that would impact the welfare of Nigerian citizens were mitigated in the future, in line with the 4-Ds strategy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

“Nigeria has just participated in the Saudi-Africa Summit where bilateral discussions covering several sectors of the economy and mutually beneficial commitments were made,’’ the statement read.

When contacted, the Presidency said it was aware of the situation but was yet to get the facts of the matter.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Tope Ajayi, said: “I am aware of what happened but we don’t have the facts of what happened. We are waiting to get updates on the matter.”

As reported the flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived Saudi Arabia’s major city, Jeddah, yesterday without issues.

However, on landing, the Saudi Arabia authorities announced that all the passengers’ visas were cancelled.