The first batch of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks has arrived in Lagos.
A total of 268 returnees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Thursday aboard an Air Peace flight arranged as part of the Federal Government’s repatriation efforts.
The evacuation flight, which was initially scheduled to depart South Africa on Monday, was delayed until Wednesday due to documentation and processing issues before eventually taking off.
The returnees were received by officials of the Federal Government, including representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and security agencies.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, was at the airport to receive the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government.
Officials at the airport also commenced documentation and profiling of the evacuated Nigerians on arrival.
The repatriation followed growing concerns over the safety of Nigerians living in South Africa after reports of xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants.
The Federal Government had earlier disclosed that more than 1,000 Nigerians had indicated interest in returning home from South Africa, with additional evacuation flights expected in the coming days.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had said the number of Nigerians requesting repatriation was steadily increasing.
According to her, the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria had been engaging South African authorities to facilitate the safe return of affected citizens, including those with immigration-related concerns.
The minister said arrangements were made to ensure that Nigerians with unresolved immigration issues would be allowed to depart on evacuation flights instead of being detained.
To coordinate the process, the Nigerian Mission in South Africa began screening and documenting intending returnees.
The exercise, which was initially expected to end over the weekend, was later extended to accommodate the growing number of applicants.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the extension reflected the government’s commitment to protecting the welfare and interests of Nigerians abroad.
“This underscores the priority accorded to the protection of Nigerian citizens overseas, which remains a central pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy and a core responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the statement read.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu explained that she was unable to receive the returnees personally because she was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for talks aimed at facilitating the transfer of more than 100 Nigerian prisoners from Ethiopian correctional facilities back to Nigeria.
She said the affected Nigerian inmates are being held in Kaliti and Aba Samuel prisons in Addis Ababa, adding that four Nigerians had died in custody due to health and other related complications.
The arrival of the first batch of returnees marks the beginning of a broader evacuation process aimed at assisting Nigerians affected by the unrest in South Africa and ensuring their safe return home.
