The Embassy of Saudi Arabia says that the visas of 177 AIR PEACE passengers from Nigeria upon arrival at Jeddah were cancelled for violating the country’s entry rules. PUNCH reports that the Federal Government had noted on Tuesday according to the report received from the Nigerian consulate in Jeddah, AIR PEACE flight No P4-752 airlifted 264 passengers from Nigeria and landed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport-Hajj terminal Jeddah on Monday 23, 2023.

On arrival at the Hajj terminal, the Saudi immigration authorities informed the passengers that their visas had been cancelled. 177 passengers were made to return on the same flight back to Nigeria while 87 passengers were cleared by Saudi Immigration and allowed entry into jeddah. The Saudi Embassy defended the decision that the deported Nigerians submitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that did not apply to them which was discovered on arrival.

In the statement ” the royal embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja would like to make a clarrification about the media reports and social media releases concerning the deportation of Nigerian citizens at the point of entry into the kingdom. The passengers who were denied entry, and subsequently depoerted to their initial destinations, did not fulfil the entry conditions and requirements in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the kingdom, as they submitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that does not apply to them, which was discovered upon their arrival. The royal Embassy stressed the importance of following the procedures and laws enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all visitors, advising that all passengers should review all the documents to determine their conformity with the conditions prior to departing from their countries to the Kingdom. The procedure was not limited to Nigeran citizens only, but rather to citizens of other countries”

CREDITS:PUNCH