The House of Representatives says it will investigate the decision of the Egyptian authorities to deny access to Nigerians fleeing war-torn Sudan.

The speaker of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila disclosed this position during a meeting with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubair Dada; Director General, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Social Development, Nasir Gwarzo; and other officials of government.

Speaking on the ongoing evacuation exercise of Nigerians trapped in Sudan, the head of the lower chamber expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of the Egyptians during the exercise.

He stressed that shutting the border against many innocent people who are running for their dear lives “in a period of crisis like this” is uncalled for.

He said: “It is also heart-warming that borders are now open in Egypt. But we will take it up in parliament to find out why they didn’t open the borders in time, especially in a period of crisis like this.

“We are happy that all 5,500 Nigerians willing to leave Khartoum have been evacuated and are on their way home to Nigeria,” Gbajabiamila said.

Mr Gbajabiamila also stated that the House would review the law that made the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) the agency in charge of such evacuations.

Recall that Integrity News reported that the Federal Government announced that Egyptian authorities opened their border for Nigerians, mostly students, fleeing the Sudan war to pass through its border, following an intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, announced this via her Twitter handle.

She tweeted: “With the intervention of President Buhari, Egypt has finally opened its border to Nigerians fleeing Sudan. With an Air Force plane already on the ground in Aswan, Egypt, the processing of the first set of evacuees will begin.”

Egyptian authorities insisted on clearing all 637 Nigerians before they could enter Egypt.

Approximately 5,500 Nigerian students are expected to arrive from Sudan as part of the evacuation, which began last week.