As missile exchanges between Israel and Iran intensify, Nigerians trapped in the crossfire are calling on the Federal Government for urgent evacuation, lamenting that they have been left to fend for themselves in bomb shelters.
Many of them, including families in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, say they’ve been taking cover in underground bunkers since Iran launched a retaliatory missile barrage following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion. The Israeli offensive targeted Tehran and other Iranian cities on June 13, prompting Iran’s large-scale response three days later.
“We are in an Israeli bomb shelter and I can’t answer calls right now,” Ekene Abaka, a Nigerian living in Tel Aviv, told Saturday PUNCH via a Facebook message.
A Nigerian software engineer in Jerusalem described the chaos: “Most of the areas where Nigerians live in Israel are in Tel Aviv… The Nigerian embassy is shut down. It’s not doing anything about the issue at the moment. We ran into a bomb shelter to protect ourselves.”
The conflict has already claimed at least 264 lives — including 70 women and children — in both countries. Yet, as of Friday night, the Federal Government had not evacuated any of the more than 1,000 Nigerians caught in the crisis.
Videos shared by Travels Vlog, a platform run by a Nigerian in Israel, show terrified individuals scrambling to find open shelters amid blaring sirens. “Everybody is running helter-skelter now… Oh! It’s closed. Why did they lock this place?” one Nigerian exclaimed in a clip.
Hope Omobeauty, a contributor on the same vlog, added, “I have people in Israel who are trying to leave, but there is no way.”
Economic activity in Israel has ground to a halt, worsening conditions for stranded foreigners. “We are scared because we don’t even know how we will pay our next rent or feed our children,” one Nigerian engineer said. “The embassy doesn’t help. You’re on your own.”
Meanwhile, in Iran, the Nigerian Embassy says it is awaiting border clearance from Armenia to begin evacuating citizens through Yerevan. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa, logistics and buses are ready, but Armenia’s approval is pending.
“All hands are on deck to get permission, including for transit and final airlifting to Abuja from Yerevan, Armenia,” Ebienfa said.
While countries like Germany, Greece, China, and the US have evacuated hundreds of their nationals, Nigerians remain in limbo — underground, anxious, and waiting.
