The final batch of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa is expected to arrive in the country today, as returnees continue to recount painful experiences of xenophobic attacks, displacement, and betrayal, while urging the Federal Government to prioritise rehabilitation and reintegration programmes to help them rebuild their lives.
Nigerians recently evacuated from South Africa have shared heartbreaking accounts of the hardships they endured during the latest wave of xenophobic violence, appealing to the Federal Government to urgently introduce rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives to help them recover from the loss of their homes, businesses, and livelihoods.
Many of the returnees also accused some of their relatives in Nigeria of betraying their trust by failing to properly manage investments and properties they acquired while living abroad.
Their stories come as another 315 Nigerians are expected to arrive in Lagos today aboard an Air Peace flight, marking the final phase of the Federal Government’s evacuation programme.
The latest group of evacuees represents the concluding stage of the government’s efforts to repatriate Nigerians who voluntarily requested assistance following the recent xenophobic attacks and growing insecurity in parts of South Africa.
The Federal Government had previously conducted four evacuation flights, returning hundreds of Nigerians to the country.
“I Thought I Was Going To Die”
One of the returnees, a 49-year-old Edo State indigene who spent 11 years living in South Africa, said he survived multiple xenophobic attacks before deciding to return home.
The father of two, who was married to a South African woman, recalled a terrifying encounter with armed attackers.
“That was before the present incident in the country. I was attacked by gun-wielding South Africans. They said their anger stemmed from the fact that we, Nigerians, were always with their women.
“Even my passport was thrown into the bush by some armed South Africans, although I managed to search for and recover it. That was a few years ago. I think the incident happened in 2017. One of the South Africans pointed a revolver at me.
“I cried like a baby when they pointed the gun at me. I knelt down and begged because I was at the point of being killed.”
He said the situation has become even worse, explaining that foreigners now face hostility regardless of their immigration status.
“Now, it is not only people without legal documents, they are saying they don’t want any foreigners. Whether you are legal or not, they don’t want you. To be honest with you, my documents have expired. My passport has expired, and my asylum permit has expired because I couldn’t go out to renew them for fear of being attacked.”
Another evacuee, who requested anonymity, described life in South Africa as increasingly unbearable for foreigners.
According to the returnee, many migrants abandoned businesses, homes, and years of hard work because of the worsening climate of fear, harassment, and discrimination.
The individual said many families escaped with virtually nothing after being forced to flee.
Beyond the violence experienced abroad, several returnees claimed they encountered disappointment from relatives after returning to Nigeria.
One returnee alleged that after demanding accountability for his investments, family members deceived him into accompanying them to an Islamic cleric’s residence.
According to him, he was unexpectedly forced into a room where several other people had allegedly been confined under poor conditions.
A similar account surfaced on TikTok, where another returnee, identified by the handle @Adeyinka Ayaba Ibarapa, claimed she also lost properties entrusted to relatives while living overseas.
“When I came back from South Africa and asked my blood sister about my property, she kept giving excuses. After three months, she called me around 2 a.m. and said they would take me to where my property was. I simply stopped asking,” she wrote.
She was responding to another viral video in which a man alleged that after spending 23 years working in South Africa, his relatives tricked him into visiting an Alfa for prayers before allegedly locking him inside a room.
He narrated:
“I had just arrived in Nigeria and asked my family about my properties. They said the property was still under development. Later, they said they wanted to take me somewhere for prayers. I followed them because they are my family.
“When we got there, they suddenly pushed me into a room. I met people who had been there for up to one year under terrible conditions.”
Another returnee, Chikezie Igwe, revealed during an interview with News Central Television that he narrowly escaped death during the attacks.
“My message to Nigerians still in South Africa is simple: leave while you can. When I was escaping, I called one of my friends and begged him to come with me to the Nigerian Consulate because they had already burnt my car. He refused. On Monday, while I was at the Nigerian High Commission, I received a call that he had been killed,” he said.
Mrs. Ilugbadebo Oyebola, who returned with her family after spending 11 years in South Africa, described years of discrimination and hardship.
“I spent 11 years in South Africa without a residence permit. There were no stable jobs, no access to proper healthcare and constant discrimination because we were foreigners,” she said.
She recalled one particularly painful experience after giving birth in a South African hospital.
“I had just delivered my baby and was bleeding when a nurse realised I wasn’t a South African. She told me to clean the hospital floor. That experience left me traumatised. My children also faced discrimination in school and were sometimes denied awards simply because they were foreigners,” she said.
Despite everything, she expressed appreciation to the Nigerian government for facilitating their return.
Many of the returnees said returning home is only the beginning of another difficult journey, noting that they now face the challenge of rebuilding their lives from scratch.
They urged the Federal Government to go beyond evacuation by introducing comprehensive rehabilitation, financial support, and reintegration programmes that would enable them to start afresh.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 315 Nigerians are expected to arrive in Lagos today aboard an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg, concluding the Federal Government’s evacuation exercise.
According to the ministry, the flight departed Johannesburg at 1:30 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at approximately 6:30 a.m.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigerians abroad and expressed appreciation to all stakeholders who contributed to the successful evacuation exercise.
