FG To Evacuate 83 Nigerians From South Africa Wednesday

Another 83 Nigerians are due back in Lagos from South Africa on Wednesday, in a fresh evacuation tied to continuing concern over attacks on foreign nationals.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the group will leave O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 3:35 p.m. local time on a South African Airways flight and arrive at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 8:45 p.m. the same day.

The return flight is being funded by private individuals, according to the ministry. It comes after the government said its voluntary repatriation programme had already brought nearly 1,490 Nigerians home from South Africa.

That programme had earlier included larger evacuation flights, including one NaijaTrend reported here in July. The latest 83-person trip is a smaller, privately supported movement after the formal programme was said to have ended.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said in the statement reported by Vanguard and Daily Trust that the government was grateful for the support that made the tickets available. The ministry also called on companies, state governments and Nigerians at home and abroad to help in future consular emergencies.

The ministry said the Tinubu administration remained committed to the welfare of Nigerians abroad and would keep working with host countries, including South Africa, to address attacks and discrimination against Nigerians.

For the returnees, the immediate issue is simpler: getting home safely. The flight schedule means the group is expected to reach Lagos on Wednesday night if the movement goes as planned.

Sources: Vanguard and Daily Trust.