Meta description: A fresh batch of 83 Nigerians fleeing xenophobic attacks in South Africa has arrived in Lagos, in a repatriation funded by private individuals rather than government.
A fresh batch of 83 Nigerians repatriated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, as part of continuing efforts to bring home citizens fleeing renewed xenophobic attacks in the country.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that the returnees were accompanied by two officials from the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Johannesburg.
“The Ministry wishes to reiterate the fact that the repatriation exercise of this batch of returnees was facilitated through the procurement of flight tickets by good-spirited private individuals, whose generous support enabled their safe return to Nigeria,” the statement read.
The returnees were received in Lagos by Haruna Ali-Gombe, director of the African Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who welcomed them on behalf of the federal government before handing them over to relevant government agencies for documentation and profiling ahead of their reunification with their families.
Renewed Xenophobic Violence
The repatriation comes amid a fresh wave of anti-migrant violence in South Africa, which has intensified this year after vigilante groups ordered undocumented foreigners to leave by June 30. More than 176,000 people have left South Africa in recent weeks, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by African countries repatriating their nationals. South African police say at least four migrants have been killed in the violence, though some foreign governments report a higher toll. Separately, the federal government said 90 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa since 2022, citing a statement from Raphael Oni, special assistant on digital media and public diplomacy in the Office of the Minister of State.
Numbers Under Dispute
The latest 83 returnees add to a larger repatriation effort. Ebienfa’s ministry said the new batch is in addition to nearly 1,490 Nigerians earlier repatriated from South Africa in seven batches. However, other reports put the cumulative total of returnees at 1,476 following this latest batch a figure that does not fully reconcile with the ministry’s stated baseline, and the discrepancy was not resolved in available reporting.
Not a Government-Funded Programme
Unlike earlier repatriation exercises, this batch was not funded by the federal government. The ministry said flight tickets were procured by private individuals, and it urged corporate organisations, state governments, and other well-meaning Nigerians to “emulate” the gesture. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the federal government “remains committed to the welfare and safe return of all Nigerian citizens abroad” and expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Mission in South Africa, the private sponsors, and all agencies involved in the reception process.
Following the exercise, the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa opened an online portal for citizens seeking to take part in a further repatriation exercise, signalling that the government expects continued demand for evacuation as the situation in South Africa remains unresolved.
The government said it would continue engaging South Africa diplomatically to address the root causes of Afrophobia and to hold perpetrators of violence and discrimination against Nigerians accountable.
