“We will bring all of you back home before June 30”: FG assures Nigerians seeking to flee South Africa

By Paul Dada

The Federal Government has said every Nigerian who has registered to leave South Africa over tye wave of  xenophobic  attacks will be brought home before the end of June.

Giving this assurance  on Thursday was  the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, through a statement released by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze.

The minister said that the Federal Government was closely monitoring developments in South Africa and had intensified efforts to assist Nigerians who wished to return voluntarily.

According to her, the evacuation programme has already commenced, with 258 Nigerians arriving in Lagos on June 11 aboard the first flight organised by the government. The returnees were received at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu disclosed that roughly 1,000 Nigerians had so far indicated interest in returning home, adding that arrangements were being finalised to airlift the remaining registrants before the June 30 deadline.

She said President Bola Tinubu had directed relevant agencies to ensure the swift evacuation of Nigerians facing threats, intimidation or insecurity in South Africa.

The minister expressed concern over reports that Nigerians and other African migrants were increasingly becoming targets of hostility and discrimination.

She said Nigeria was maintaining diplomatic engagement with South African authorities while also examining other lawful measures to protect its citizens.

“When it comes to situations like this, of course, it is necessary to be temperate and exercise caution. But when your citizens are being harassed, when your citizens are people who have spent years there, and mind you, some of them are married to South Africans and have children who have known no other home but South Africa, then it becomes a serious concern.

“Now, under these circumstances, they are asking not just Nigerians, but also their South African spouses and their children, to leave South Africa,” the minister said.

She also questioned what she described as the contrast between the treatment of Nigerians in South Africa and the business environment enjoyed by South African firms operating in Nigeria.

“As I indicated before, there are these huge conglomerates. By the way, there are over 120 South African companies operating in Nigeria.

“Nobody is asking them to provide proof of identity. Nobody is asking South African staff working there whether they are South Africans or Nigerians, and nobody is taking over their shops or businesses.

“But this is happening to Nigerians in South Africa. So, I think that at some point, we really have to review the options available to us.

“We have MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic, Protea and many other South African brands spanning multiple sectors,” she said.

The minister warned that the activities of anti-migrant groups were harming South Africa’s international standing and undermining its long-standing reputation as a champion of African unity.

“This is causing reputational damage, and that is quite sad because the late Madiba, Nelson Mandela – God rest his soul – worked so hard to project South Africa as the bastion of pan-Africanism.

“And in one fell swoop, these anti-migrant vigilante groups have destroyed what this man sacrificed 28 years in prison for. So, it is causing reputational damage.

“Even within South Africa itself, people are cancelling concerts, and conferences are being called off.

“South Africa has been stained with the stigma of being a xenophobic country. This is not something I think they will be comfortable with in the long run,” she said.

She further revealed that an early warning agreement signed between Nigeria and South Africa in October 2025 had yet to be activated.

According to her, South African authorities later argued that officials who signed the Memorandum of Understanding lacked the authority to make it legally binding and that additional procedures were necessary before implementation.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu added that concern over the attacks had spread across the continent, with countries such as Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique already taking steps to evacuate their nationals from South Africa.

She reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian who wishes to return is safely evacuated within the stipulated timeframe.