Several Nigerians have been stranded in Qatar after flights out of the country were suspended due to the ongoing regional crisis linked to tensions between the United States and Iran.
One Nigerian woman recently took to social media to share the difficult situation facing her family and other Nigerians who have been stuck in Qatar for more than nine days. According to her, the disruption was caused by the conflict in the region, which led to the suspension of flights.
In a post shared on X on March 9, 2026, she explained that while several countries have already evacuated their citizens, Nigerians are still waiting for a response from the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) regarding plans for their evacuation.
“Never been this helpless before in my life. 9 days stuck in Qatar with my family and other Nigerians who were on transit, countries have picked up their citizens from here it’s mostly Nigerians that are left! We have called the Embassy and Consulate yet no postive response.”
She also revealed that many of the stranded Nigerians feel trapped because they cannot obtain temporary visas to travel to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, even though some of them hold valid UK visas.
Most of the affected Nigerians were travelling to the United Kingdom on Qatar Airways flights that stopped in Doha for what was supposed to be a routine layover. However, their journeys were disrupted after the airline announced a suspension of operations.
On February 28, Qatar Airways confirmed that it had halted its flights after the Qatari government closed the country’s airspace due to escalating tensions in the Middle East following attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
Later, on March 8, the airline announced that it had received approval to operate a limited number of flights through a special corridor. These flights would mainly serve passengers whose final destinations are in some European countries.
With regular flight operations still suspended, many Nigerians stranded in Qatar are now relying on NIDCOM, led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to arrange their evacuation. The commission recently confirmed that it had received distress calls from Nigerians across the Middle East and said evacuation plans were underway, although no specific dates have been announced.
NIDCOM also shared a hotline for Nigerians in the region who need assistance.
Meanwhile, the absence of a Nigerian ambassador in Qatar has been cited as one reason for the slow response. However, with the recent appointment of former INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu as Nigeria’s new envoy to Qatar, stranded Nigerians are hopeful that the situation will soon be resolved.
