– FG evacuates 111 more, 44 children among returnees
– RCCG commits $265,854 to bring home 500 distressed citizens
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The federal government has evacuated another 111 Nigerians from South Africa amid renewed anti-immigrant violence, bringing to 2,037 the number of citizens repatriated since the latest evacuation exercise began in June, as concerns mount over the safety of Nigerians living in the country.
The latest evacuation, involving 44 men, 23 women and 44 children, underscores the continuing human cost of the hostility towards foreign nationals in South Africa and the growing diplomatic challenge confronting Africa’s two largest economies.
The returnees arrived in Lagos aboard South African Airways Flight SA060 on Thursday, October 8, with the operation funded by a $265,854 donation from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to support the repatriation of 500 distressed Nigerians.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi.
Adeniyi revealed the returnees were received by officials of the ministry, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant government agencies.
The latest arrival brings to 15 the number of consular evacuation operations conducted from South Africa since June 10, when Nigeria commenced the exercise in response to security concerns arising from xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant demonstrations.
Of the 2,037 Nigerians evacuated so far, 1,388 had their repatriation costs fully covered by the federal government, according to the ministry.
The RCCG has funded one-way tickets for 318 returnees under its commitment to assist 500 distressed Nigerians, leaving another 182 tickets to be funded under the initiative.
The federal government expressed appreciation to the church, led by Pastor Enoch Adeboye, for the intervention, which has helped ease the financial burden of returning Nigerians seeking to leave an increasingly uncertain environment.
However, the latest evacuation comes against the backdrop of fresh anti-immigrant protests in South Africa, where demonstrations in Johannesburg and Durban turned violent in early October, with vehicles set ablaze and foreign-owned businesses looted.
The unrest is reported to have followed protests over asylum processing and demands for the deportation of undocumented migrants.
South African authorities attributed some of the tensions to misinformation surrounding a Constitutional Court ruling on access to asylum applications. The violence has renewed concerns about the safety of foreign nationals.
The evacuation programme is the latest response to a long-running problem that has periodically strained relations between Nigeria and South Africa.
South Africa, a major economic destination for African migrants, has witnessed recurring anti-immigrant hostility, with foreign nationals sometimes blamed for unemployment, crime and pressure on public services.
Nigerian nationals have been among those caught up in the tensions, alongside migrants from other African countries.
The latest wave of unrest prompted the Nigerian government to begin bringing home citizens who registered for voluntary evacuation. The first batch of 258 Nigerians arrived in Lagos on June 11, following the Federal Government’s decision to organise flights for distressed nationals.
By July 15, the government announced that 1,490 Nigerians had been evacuated through successive flights operated by Air Peace and South African Airways.
The cumulative figure has since risen to 2,037, according to the latest Foreign Affairs Ministry statement.
The evacuation exercise has also unfolded amid grave concerns over the treatment and protection of Nigerian citizens in South Africa.
On July 5, the federal government condemned the killings of two Nigerians, Emeka Charles Iroegbu and Musa Yunana Joe, whose deaths were reported to have occurred on June 28 in separate incidents in Pretoria and Witbank.
The government called for justice and urged Nigerians to remain calm while diplomatic engagements continued.
The incidents intensified pressure on both governments to address the safety of Nigerian nationals and ensure that criminal allegations against individuals do not become grounds for collective punishment or attacks on foreign communities.
Nigeria has maintained that xenophobia, intimidation and violence against migrants cannot be justified by concerns over crime or irregular immigration. It has also called on South African authorities to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable under the law.
South Africa, for its part, has rejected portrayals of the country as inherently hostile to other Africans and has maintained that it condemns xenophobia, racism and discrimination.
Its government has argued that individual criminal offences must be addressed through lawful processes rather than collective blame or vigilantism.
The crisis has moved beyond consular evacuations to the wider diplomatic arena.
On August 31, the federal government announced that President Bola Tinubu had raised recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans in South Africa at the African Union’s 21st Extraordinary Session in Luanda, Angola.
Represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu called for collective action by African leaders, warning that such incidents threatened continental solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence.
Shettima also reiterated Nigeria’s opposition to the dehumanisation and mistreatment of its citizens, while emphasising the need for dialogue with South African authorities.
The diplomatic challenge is particularly significant given the historic solidarity between the two countries during the struggle against apartheid and their continuing economic and political links.
Nigeria has consistently supported the liberation of southern African countries from minority rule, making attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants a sensitive issue in bilateral relations.
Yet both governments face the task of preventing the crisis from escalating into retaliatory hostility against each other’s citizens and businesses.
In its latest statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to engaging South African authorities and other relevant stakeholders to address xenophobia and Afrophobia and promote the safety, welfare and dignity of Nigerians residing in the country.
It urged Nigerians in South Africa to comply with local laws, remain vigilant and prioritise their personal safety.
The ministry also advised them to maintain contact with the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria and the Consulate-General in Johannesburg for consular assistance whenever necessary.
For the 111 latest returnees, the evacuation provides a route home amid continuing uncertainty. For the federal government, however, the challenge extends beyond organising flights and securing donations: it must sustain diplomatic pressure for the protection of Nigerians who remain in South Africa and ensure that those returning home receive appropriate support.
With another 182 one-way tickets still to be funded under the RCCG initiative, the evacuation programme remains ongoing, while the broader question of how to guarantee the safety of Nigerians abroad continues to test the country’s consular diplomacy.