Hundreds of Nigerians living in Saudi Arabia without work or residency permits have been deported, following several migrants having posted a video on social media about their squalid conditions, and asking for help.

The BBC reports that 384 people were flown from Riyadh on Thursday to Abuja, Nigeria, with a second flight to take place tomorrow. The number included 300 men, 83 women and one infant.

Meanwhile, more than 800 people are expected to be returned to Nigeria.

According to the BBC some of the Nigerian nationals to be returned regretted travelling to the Kingdom, saying they were kept for months in extremely crowded shelters without proper food, sanitation and hygiene. They said these circumstances had resulted in illness and even deaths. Further, many had been stranded in the Kingdom by the coronavirus lockdown, but finding nothing more menial employment to sustain themselves.

Umm Muhammed Umar