Why Nigerians are giving birth on hospital floors in S’Africa

Nigerians in South Africa are under siege. A surge of xenophobic attacks by the anti-migrant group Operation Dudula is reportedly blocking foreigners from hospitals, forcing women to deliver babies on bare floors.

In a viral video, a group leader marched foreigners out of a public hospital, shouting: “If you know yourself that you are not a South African, please stand up. Don’t try us because we are going to check everybody.”

Operation Dudula claims to fight illegal immigration and the so-called “unlawful takeover of jobs and services” by foreigners. But victims say its actions amount to terror. Clinics are blocked, immigrants confronted, and patients turned away.

Frank Onyekwelu, President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, described the attacks as “another wave of xenophobic assault.” He told Punch:

“Imagine a woman giving birth on a bare floor in front of a hospital without antenatal care or a midwife. Some patients are being forcefully discharged without treatment. Some of them could just die like chickens.”

Those who can afford private care are fleeing hospitals, while Nigerian doctors are stepping in to help victims. Smart Nwobi, President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, recounted a case of a nursing mother denied access to immunisation services at a public clinic.

He condemned Operation Dudula as “criminals” acting outside the law. Some members, he noted, are dual citizens themselves, yet demand foreigners speak local languages to qualify as South Africans.

“This is pure illegality and violates Section 27 of the South African Constitution, which guarantees access to healthcare,” Nwobi said.

In August, Nwobi had described Operation Dudula’s raids as sheer forms of afrophobia.

He had noted that the group threatened that by next year they would stop foreigners, including Nigerians, from attending public schools.

Nwobi insisted that the actions were coordinated and must be stopped.

Speaking on Thursday, the NUSA leader disclosed that the Nigerian community had reported the matter to the Nigerian Embassy, which had promised to engage South African authorities diplomatically.

The African Diaspora Forum, he added, was also considering legal action, including filing an injunction at the South African High Court and meeting with the country’s president and political parties.

Nigerian leaders are calling on both governments to intervene urgently before more lives are lost.