Another group of 105 Nigerians has arrived in Lagos from South Africa, two days after the September 30 deadline set by anti-migrant groups for foreign nationals to leave the country expired.
The returnees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Friday, October 2, according to a BBC report, in the latest movement of citizens leaving South Africa amid renewed xenophobic attacks on foreign migrants.
The arrival follows an earlier group of 105 Nigerians who returned on Thursday, September 24, as NaijaTrend reported. That flight, South African Airways SA060, carried 82 adults and 23 children, with 100 of the tickets paid for from a $265,854 donation by the Redeemed Christian Church of God toward the cost of bringing home 500 stranded citizens.
Friday’s arrivals came under the same church-funded evacuation arrangement, which the BBC said covered the new set of evacuees together with 100 people from the previous batch. The October 2 movement is the first confirmed arrival after the anti-migrant groups’ deadline lapsed, and it takes place as diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and South Africa continue over the safety of Nigerians and other African migrants.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, said Nigeria remains deeply concerned about persistent xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa, adding that the government would continue diplomatic efforts with the South African authorities.
The ministry has previously said the government has facilitated the return of 1,821 Nigerians since June. That figure sits within a wider regional movement: South African authorities said more than 53,000 foreign nationals were processed for deportation or repatriation by July 11, most of them Malawians, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans. Malawi said it brought home more than 38,000 citizens between June and early July, while Zimbabwe reported the return of more than 21,000 people. Uganda, Ghana and Mozambique have also repatriated their citizens.
Anti-migrant groups had set a similar deadline of June 30, and thousands of people joined anti-immigration protests across South Africa that in some places turned violent, with looting recorded. Police said about 900 people were arrested, mostly for immigration offences and looting, while the South African authorities stressed that immigration enforcement is the government’s responsibility and warned against vigilantism and attacks on foreign nationals.
Source: BBC
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