Nigeria has continued the evacuation of its citizens affected by the ongoing anti-migrant violence in South Africa, with another batch of returnees arriving safely in Lagos on Friday.
The Air Peace evacuation flight landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, bringing home 268 Nigerians, alongside two officials and crew members.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, confirmed the development, revealing that “a total of 268 returnees and two officers and crew” were on board the special evacuation flight.
She explained that the Federal Government-funded charter flight departed Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 5:36 a.m. before arriving in Nigeria.
According to the minister, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered that the evacuation exercise should continue despite the June 30, 2026 deadline issued by South African anti-migrant groups and vigilantes.
“The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has directed that the evacuation of Nigerian nationals from South Africa at risk as a result of the ongoing xenophobic protests and attacks continues, even after the deadline of 30th June 2026 issued by South African Anti-migrant groups and vigilantes.
“Three batches of returnees, almost 600 Nationals in total, had earlier been successfully evacuated from South Africa before the deadline.
“The evacuations remain ongoing. The Federal Government is committed to bringing home safely our Nationals who voluntarily registered to be evacuated and have been duly screened and cleared.
“Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in adherence to that unbreakable bond between citizen and state, remains dedicated to this mandate,” she wrote in a statement shared on her X account.
Ojukwu reaffirmed that safeguarding Nigerians abroad remains one of the government’s top priorities and forms an important part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
She added that the administration remains committed to protecting the dignity and welfare of Nigerians wherever they reside.
The latest evacuation comes as anti-migrant demonstrations continue across South Africa, where black foreign nationals have increasingly become targets of hostility and violence.
On Tuesday, thousands of protesters marched in several South African cities demanding the removal of undocumented migrants after weeks of anti-immigration campaigns that have displaced thousands of people and reportedly claimed four lives.
Police maintained a heavy presence during the nationwide protests, which followed an unofficial June 30 deadline issued by citizen-led vigilante groups demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country.
Authorities reported isolated incidents of looting, stone-throwing and confrontations during the demonstrations. Near Johannesburg, security officials escorted a small number of foreign nationals away from an angry crowd armed with large sticks.
Protesters were also seen throwing stones at a building while carrying flags and placards, under the watch of heavily armed police officers wearing riot gear.
In Durban, demonstrators dressed in traditional Zulu warrior attire marched with spears, shields and whips, while some wore leopard skins.
In Cape Town, a smaller protest of about 100 people moved through the city centre, passing a separate demonstration organised in opposition to Afrophobia and xenophobia.
South Africa remains one of Africa’s largest economies and continues to attract migrant workers despite facing unemployment exceeding 30 per cent, rising crime and challenges in public service delivery.
Anti-immigration groups argue that undocumented migrants take jobs and strain public resources, although analysts have criticised such claims, saying foreign nationals are often unfairly blamed for broader governance and economic challenges.
“South Africans have been replaced by illegal foreigners, increasing unemployment,” the leader of the anti-immigrant March and March movement, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, told supporters during a rally in Durban.
Police said at least two Mozambicans, one Ethiopian and one Malawian have been killed in the latest wave of anti-migrant violence.
Several African countries, including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, have since organised voluntary evacuation flights and road transport for citizens wishing to return home.
Meanwhile, Nigeria says it will also pursue compensation for citizens forced to abandon businesses and properties in South Africa.
Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, disclosed during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief that the government has begun documenting assets left behind by returnees as part of efforts to seek compensation from the South African authorities.
“I have asked them (returnees) before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties. We can now take it up with the South African government. That is the next step we are going to take.
“So, this repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria. We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us, and I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people,” Ajayi said.
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