The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will on Thursday receive the first batch of Nigerians being repatriated from South Africa amid ongoing xenophobic attacks.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, NEMA said it has activated reception arrangements for the returning Nigerian citizens.
According to the statement, the Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has deployed the agency’s response team to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos to receive the returnees in collaboration with other relevant government agencies and stakeholders.
“The first batch of the evacuees will depart the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday night and is expected to arrive in Nigeria in the early hours of Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos,” the statement said.
The repatriation follows heightened tensions over persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens in South Africa.
The Federal Government has threatened to review some privileges currently enjoyed by South African nationals and businesses in Nigeria if the attacks continue.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, warned that Nigeria is not pleased with recent developments in South Africa and may begin plans to sanction the country.
