The Federal Government and Nigerian evacuees from South Africa have faulted claims by the South African authorities that many of those repatriated lacked proper documentation, insisting Pretoria frustrated efforts to renew their papers.
Some returnees accused the South African government of deliberately delaying or denying renewal of work permits and other legal documents to create grounds to label them undocumented and justify a clampdown.
The first batch of over 200 Nigerians fleeing renewed xenophobic attacks arrived in Lagos aboard an Air Peace flight fully funded by the Federal Government, with officials from NEMA, Immigration, NiDCOM and FAAN on ground for profiling and support.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 1,000 Nigerians have been screened and cleared for evacuation after a citizen‑led group in South Africa ordered all undocumented foreign nationals to leave by June 30, heightening fears among migrants.
The evacuees recounted incidents of harassment, threats and violence in South African communities, saying they chose to return home rather than continue living in fear and uncertainty.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu‑Ojukwu said Nigeria is monitoring the situation closely and hinted that Abuja could consider retaliatory measures if attacks and discriminatory treatment against Nigerian citizens persist.
Nigerian officials also dismissed narratives suggesting that most evacuees were illegal migrants, stressing that several had valid visas or had only recently fallen out of status due to South Africa’s restrictive and delayed documentation processes.
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