The Federal Government of Nigeria has reassured Nigerians still in South Africa of their safety, despite fresh fears over xenophobic tensions and renewed anti-immigrant protests continue to trigger calls for stronger diplomatic action.
The development follows reports of escalating xenophobic tensions in South Africa, which prompted Nigerians to gather at the country’s embassy in Pretoria.
On Tuesday, an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg landed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 10:48 a.m., bringing back 269 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa. The flight marked the second government-coordinated evacuation operation in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen allegedly shot dead a Nigerian businessman known as “Big Joe” outside his shop in Witbank on Sunday. Local police are yet to determine or disclose the motive behind the killing.
On Tuesday, thousands of South Africans took to the streets in the country’s major cities to demand the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Consequently, concerns that the protests would turn violent led to the deployment of police officers and private security guards.
Fearing intimidation and possible violence, many foreign nationals reportedly fled their communities after the protests.
South African police said authorities have deported about 25,000 migrants, most of whom came from other African countries.
Police also said the protests remained largely peaceful, although authorities recorded isolated incidents of looting, vandalism, and assaults.
Foreign Affairs ministry
In a statement released in Abuja and signed by its spokesperson, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to bring back Nigerians who are willing to return, especially in light of the deadline set by South African organisations for undocumented foreigners to depart the country on Tuesday, June 30.
Despite the deadline, the Federal Government pledged to sustain high-level diplomatic engagement with the South Africa government to protect the interests of Nigerians who remain in the country.
Before Tuesday’s evacuation, Kunle Soname, Chief Executive Officer of ValueJet, facilitated the return of 66 Nigerians to Lagos on June 24.
The ministry said senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe, Director of the African Affairs Department, received the latest batch of evacuees at the airport alongside representatives of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa.
Speaking during the gathering, Ali-Gombe gave the returnees a message of assurance from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Despite the deadline set by South African authorities for June 30, the ministry emphasised that the evacuation exercise was still ongoing.
Also Read: Federal Government of Nigeria evacuates 66 more citizens from South Africa
Nigerians stranded in South Africa
Temitope Ajayi said on Tuesday that many Nigerians stranded outside the country’s mission in Pretoria during the anti-migrant protests ignored the embassy’s advice and instead acted on information circulated by local residents.
Ajayi made the remarks while the Federal Government continued the voluntary evacuation of Nigerians who chose to return home, responding to reports that some Nigerians had slept outside the embassy and sought refuge in churches.
According to him, the mission has put in place a structured evacuation process and only invited screened individuals to report when their respective flights were ready.
He said, “The (Nigerian) community here puts people in a difficult situation. Our agreement was that it is only when the flight is coming that we call the people who are captured on the list because we have a list for different batches.
“The last time we called them, the community went overboard to announce that everybody should report, whereas that was not the case. It is not what we asked them to do.”
Read Also: Third batch of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrives in Lagos
