Israel-Iran war: Stranded Nigerians cry for help from underground shelters

Nigerians caught in the hostilities between Israel and Iran have called for help from underground shelters amid heavy exchange of missiles between the two countries.

Those who spoke to Saturday PUNCH slammed the Nigerian government for not doing enough, adding that other countries had started evacuating their citizens.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it was awaiting border clearance to rescue over 1,000 Nigerians in the warring countries.

According to reports, no fewer than 264 people, including 70 women and children, have died in the two countries since the war started.

The war began last Friday when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, with guided missiles and air raids pounding suspected Iranian nuclear and military sites, including air-defence installations, as well as residential areas in eastern Tehran, notably the Shahrak-e-Mahallati neighbourhood, home to senior IRGC commanders, and targets in Tabriz and other cities.

High-ranking Iranian military figures, including General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC commander Hossein Salami, were among those killed in the Israeli offensive.

In a statement, Tehran described the strikes from Israel as “the most direct act of war” in decades of covert hostilities.

In a retaliatory response on June 13, 2025, Iran launched a large-scale missile barrage, firing over 100 ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, where the Nigerian embassy is located.

Checks by Saturday PUNCH revealed that most Nigerians living in Israel are based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Sources confirmed that nearly all economic, social, and religious activities have been suspended in major Israeli cities.

Nigerians recount ordeal In separate interviews with our correspondents, some Nigerians living in major Israeli cities recounted their ordeals.

A Nigerian in Tel Aviv, Ekene Abaka, said since the onslaught began, members of the Nigerian community in the city had joined other foreigners to take cover in underground shelters provided by the Israeli military, pending an opportunity to escape the country.

We are in an Israeli bomb shelter and I can’t answer calls right now,” Abaka said in a hasty Facebook message to Saturday PUNCH.

A software engineer living in Jerusalem, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nigerians in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem had been scrambling for the past few days since the face-off between the two nations started.

The source, who also claimed to be speaking from a bomb shelter, said though many Israelis had died, no casualties had been recorded among Nigerians so far.

He, however, lamented that the Nigerian embassy had closed all official and diplomatic activities without supporting distressed Nigerians in the country.

“Most of the areas where Nigerians live in Israel are in Tel Aviv. As a matter of fact, that is the main area where most of the missiles are going. I live in Jerusalem.

“There are about three families in Jerusalem from Nigeria, but the majority of Nigerians live in Tel Aviv. We are on the run.

“The Nigerian embassy is situated in Tel Aviv. It has shut down. It’s not doing anything about the issue at the moment. We ran into a bomb shelter to protect ourselves from missiles coming from Iran,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a video shared on Tuesday by Travels Vlog, a Facebook page documenting the daily experiences of Nigerians in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, some Nigerians were seen scrambling into a bomb shelter after the Israeli government sounded the security alarm, warning of incoming Iranian missiles.

“Everybody is running helter-skelter now. I didn’t grab my water. Oh! Those are the missiles there. They have fallen now,” one of them cried out in fear.

But as they approached one of the shelters, they found it locked.