Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has confirmed that another evacuation flight will leave Lagos for Johannesburg on Tuesday, 7 July, as the federal government pushes ahead with efforts to bring citizens home from South Africa’s anti-migrant unrest.
The minister disclosed the plans in a statement issued on Monday morning, saying the flight forms part of an evacuation exercise that has already returned hundreds of Nigerians since it began last month. She said the government had concluded arrangements to move 270 citizens out of South Africa on this round of evacuation flight.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s announcement comes days after a fourth evacuation flight touched down in Lagos on 3 July, carrying 268 returnees from Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. That flight, chartered by the federal government and operated by Air Peace, departed Johannesburg at 5.36am, according to the minister.
The renewed evacuation push follows the deaths of two Nigerians in South Africa on 28 June, at a time when foreign nationals have faced growing hostility from anti-migrant groups. Emeka Charles Iroegbu, 50, reportedly died in Sunnyside, Pretoria, after officers of the Tshwane Metro Police subjected him to what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as “gruesome interrogation techniques.
Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said the same officers had previously been linked to the death of another Nigerian, Nnaemeka Mathew Andrew Ekpenyong, in April, a case in which no arrests have been made despite the four officers involved being known to the South African Police Service.
The second victim, shop owner Musa Yunana Joe, popularly known as Big Joe, was shot dead outside his business in Witbank, Mpumalanga, on the same day. Nigerian authorities said his attackers remain unidentified.
Both deaths were first announced separately by Nigeria’s Consul General in Pretoria, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, in public notices issued over the weekend, before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its own statement on Sunday condemning the killings and demanding justice.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Nigeria had demanded that South African authorities urgently investigate both killings and bring those responsible to justice. She urged citizens who feel unsafe to make use of the remaining evacuation flights rather than wait until the situation worsens.
“There are no signs that the situation is improving,” she said, adding that Nigerians still undecided about leaving should weigh the risks carefully. She noted that lost property and investments could be replaced, but lives could not.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier directed that the evacuation exercise continue beyond an initial 30 June deadline set by South African anti-migrant groups and vigilantes, after three earlier evacuation flights had already returned close to 600 Nigerians. Tuesday’s evacuation flight will be the fifth in the exercise, with a final flight expected around 10 July to close out the current phase.
The unrest driving the evacuation exercise has grown from a wider anti-migrant campaign in South Africa. Thousands of demonstrators under groups including Operation Dudula marched in cities across the country on 30 June, demanding the departure of undocumented foreign nationals. Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the killings came at a time when foreigners are being unduly targeted, noting that roughly 25,000 African migrants have been repatriated by their home governments in recent weeks.
Nigeria is not alone in organising return flights. Other African governments, including Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, have arranged similar repatriation efforts for their citizens caught up in the unrest.
Nigeria’s acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, said the government had also begun documenting businesses and property left behind by returnees, with a view to seeking compensation from South African authorities.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu reaffirmed that the safety of Nigerians abroad remains a government priority, adding that the latest evacuation flight efforts reflect the administration’s commitment to protecting citizens overseas under its Renewed Hope Agenda.
