Another group of Nigerians fleeing South Africa touched down in Lagos on Tuesday, as the federal government pressed on with a mass evacuation exercise triggered by rising anti-immigrant hostility in the country.
The Air Peace aircraft carrying 269 returnees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 10.48am, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa. The flight departed Johannesburg earlier that morning with officials of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa escorting the passengers throughout the journey.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the evacuees on arrival. The reception team was led by the Director of the African Affairs Department, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe, who conveyed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s message of reassurance to the returning nationals.
Ebienfa said the latest arrivals form part of a wider effort to bring home Nigerians fleeing South Africa ahead of the government’s June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country. He confirmed that the evacuation exercise remains active despite the deadline having passed.
“The evacuation process is still on course and more flights are expected in the country in the next few days to evacuate all Nigerians that have been screened and cleared to voluntarily return to the country,” Ebienfa said in the statement.
CNN reported that the pressure behind the exodus stems largely from campaigns led by groups such as Operation Dudula and the March & March movement, which have staged demonstrations against undocumented migrants in South African cities in recent weeks. One of the movement’s leading figures, Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, who commands a large following on Facebook, told the broadcaster he was the architect of the 30 June deadline that has pushed thousands of foreign nationals to leave the country.
Tuesday’s flight was not the first for Nigerians fleeing South Africa this month. An earlier batch of 262 returnees landed in Lagos on 11 June aboard an Air Peace flight, marking the start of the current repatriation programme. A second group of 66 evacuees arrived on 24 June aboard a flight facilitated by ValueJet chief executive Otunba Kunle Soname.
Taken together, the three batches have brought the total number of Nigerians fleeing South Africa and returned home so far to more than 600, according to figures cited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government officials. They said more Nigerians fleeing South Africa are expected to join upcoming evacuation flights as the repatriation programme continues.
The exercise forms part of five Air Peace flights approved by President Tinubu to bring home citizens affected by the renewed wave of anti-immigrant protests sweeping South Africa. Officials at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria have screened and cleared more than 1,000 Nigerians for voluntary return under the programme.
The Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, said roughly 700 Nigerians are still awaiting evacuation. Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Ajayi said the number reflects citizens who have expressed willingness to return home but have not yet been airlifted. Many of these Nigerians fleeing South Africa have already completed documentation and are awaiting available seats on scheduled flights.
Ajayi also disclosed that the federal government has begun compiling records of businesses and property abandoned by Nigerians forced to leave South Africa. He said discussions with South African authorities on possible compensation are already under way, following talks with the country’s Deputy Minister of Finance.
According to Ajayi, returnees have been instructed to document assets left behind, including vehicles and other movable and immovable property, before departure. He said the records will support Nigeria’s case in future compensation negotiations with Pretoria.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigeria will continue diplomatic engagement with South African authorities at the highest levels to protect citizens still resident in the country. Ebienfa reiterated that safety guarantees for Nigerian nationals remain a priority for the federal government throughout the ongoing crisis.
The wave of violence has left many Nigerians fleeing South Africa with little more than what they can carry onto evacuation flights. For those still awaiting their turn, government officials say further Air Peace flights will continue landing in Lagos in the coming days as the screening and clearance process proceeds.
