The Federal Government of Nigeria has issued a firm guarantee to its citizens trapped in South Africa, promising that all nationals who have registered to escape the ongoing anti-migrant violence will be completely evacuated back to Nigeria ahead of the strict June 30, 2026, deadline.
The strategic diplomatic intervention was announced on Thursday by the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, via an official press statement released by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that out of roughly 1,000 Nigerian nationals who officially signed up for the state-sponsored repatriation exercises, a primary batch of 258 citizens has already been successfully airlifted.
They were received at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.
This leaves a balance of over 742 Nigerians scheduled for emergency evacuation flights over the coming days as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directs all foreign missions to ensure vulnerable citizens are pulled out of harm's way immediately.
"When it comes to situations like this, of course, it is necessary to be temperate and exercise caution," Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated frankly. "But when your citizens are being harassed... and mind you, some of them are married to South Africans and have children who have known no other home... 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."
Minister Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed deep dissatisfaction over the blatant asymmetry in how both nations treat corporate and individual residents.
She noted that while over 120 massive South African conglomerates—including household giants like MTN, MultiChoice, and Stanbic Bank—operate seamlessly and safely within the Nigerian market, Nigerian small business owners and families in South Africa are facing targeted profiling, asset seizures, and physical harassment.
The federal government revealed that Pretoria effectively backed out of a crucial bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in October 2025, which established an early-warning mechanism specifically designed to de-escalate xenophobic tensions.
South African diplomats later claimed that the initial signatories lacked the binding legal authority to enforce the pact.
Warning that the unchecked activities of anti-migrant vigilante groups are causing permanent reputational damage to South Africa's international standing, Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted that neighboring African nations, including Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, have also initiated emergency airlifts for their respective citizens.
#XenophobiaSouthAfrica #BiancaOdumegwuOjukwu #NigerianEvacuation #PretoriaCrisis #MTNNigeria #MultiChoice #TinubuAdministration #MoniGist
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