Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The federal government has concluded arrangements to evacuate more than 700 stranded Nigerians from South Africa over the next few days, as Abuja intensifies efforts to rescue citizens caught in the aftermath of renewed xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The latest evacuation will bring the total number of Nigerians repatriated under the ongoing emergency operation to nearly 1,300, making it one of Nigeria’s largest government-led rescue missions from South Africa in recent years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed on Thursday that three additional special evacuation flights have been scheduled to return Nigerians who voluntarily registered for evacuation following the violence.
According to the ministry, the first of the remaining flights will arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday, carrying 271 returnees.
The ministry said the exercise follows the successful evacuation of 593 Nigerians in three batches.
It explained that the first batch of 258 returnees arrived aboard a special Air Peace flight on June 11 and was received by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, before being handed over to relevant government agencies for documentation and profiling.
Following logistical challenges that delayed the second evacuation flight, some stranded Nigerians were temporarily sheltered at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria.
The ministry disclosed that a Nigerian philanthropist volunteered to pay the airfares of 66 stranded compatriots, who returned to Lagos aboard a South African Airways flight on June 24.
A second government-arranged evacuation flight subsequently landed on June 30 with 269 returnees, bringing the total number evacuated so far to 593.
The ministry assured that all Nigerians who voluntarily registered for evacuation and have completed the necessary screening and clearance procedures would be brought home safely.
It also dismissed allegations circulating on social media that officials of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa demanded money from citizens before including them on evacuation lists.
According to the ministry, every evacuation flight is fully funded by the Federal Government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all the special evacuation flights are fully paid for by the Federal Government and at no cost to the returnees,” the ministry said.
It described claims that mission officials requested payment from stranded Nigerians as “totally false, fake news and should be discarded.”
The latest evacuation comes against the backdrop of recurring outbreaks of xenophobic violence in South Africa, where foreign nationals—including thousands of Nigerians—have repeatedly been targeted in attacks linked to unemployment, crime and economic hardship.
Over the past two decades, several waves of anti-immigrant violence have claimed lives, destroyed businesses and displaced hundreds of African migrants, prompting repeated diplomatic engagements between Nigeria and South Africa.
The issue reached a peak in 2019 when widespread attacks on foreign-owned businesses triggered retaliatory protests in Nigeria and led the Federal Government to organise emergency evacuation flights for hundreds of distressed Nigerians.
The renewed evacuation operation reflects growing concern over the safety of Nigerians living in South Africa, which hosts one of the continent’s largest Nigerian communities comprising professionals, students, entrepreneurs and skilled workers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa on Thursday said the operation underscores the federal government’s commitment to protecting Nigerians abroad, describing the welfare of citizens overseas as a central pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy.
It also commended the collaboration among relevant ministries, departments and agencies in executing the evacuation exercise, saying the coordinated response demonstrates government’s determination to ensure that Nigerians affected by crises abroad receive support, dignity and care.
“The lives of Nigerians living abroad matter, and we are trying our best as a Ministry to give them a sense of belonging,” the ministry said.
