Sudan crisis forces flight reroute as Buhari returns from Saudi Arabia

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Abuja after his eight-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he also performed Umrah (Lesser Hajj).

A statement issued on Wednesday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) said the presidential aircraft landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 5:08 pm, after nearly seven hours for a four to five hour Jeddah-Abuja flight due to the ongoing situation in Sudan that warrants the avoidance of the country’s entire airspace by air traffic.

According to the statement, the rerouted aircraft flew from Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, Central African Republic, Cameroon and eventually Nigeria.

Upon his safe arrival in Abuja, the President was received at the airport by the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Deputy Inspector General of Police Danmallam Mohammed, representing the Inspector General of Police and the Director General, Department of State Services Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the statement informed.

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