At least one Nigerian has been identified among 122 people injured following the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid escalating tensions in the middle East.
Authorities in the Gulf nation said their air defence systems have been responding to retaliatory missile attacks launched by Iran since the conflict began on February 28, 2026.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence disclosed that its air defence units had detected a total of 262 ballistic missiles fired from Iran since the start of the hostilities.
According to the ministry, 241 of the missiles were successfully intercepted, while 19 landed in the sea.
However, two missiles fell within the UAE’s territory, leading to casualties and injuries.
“These attacks resulted in six d8aths of Emirati, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationalities, and 122 cases of minor and moderate injuries of Emirati, Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese, Afghan, Bahraini, Comorian, Turkish, Iraqi, Nepalese, Nigerian, Omani, Jordanian and Palestinian nationalities,” the ministry said.
Officials did not provide a breakdown of the number of injured persons from each country.
Meanwhile, Nigerians stranded across several Gulf countries have appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to prepare repatriation flights in case the security situation deteriorates further.
