•Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu
The federal government yesterday declared that it is displeased with the South African government’s failure to respond firmly enough to the renewed wave of xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerian nationals, warning that retaliatory diplomatic gestures, including a review of bilateral privileges, were being actively considered and were not off the table.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who briefed State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also rejected outright claims by some South African authorities that the Nigerians under attack were illegal migrants.
She argued that Nigerian passport holders were being harassed, having their shops looted and set ablaze, and that their children were being intimidated in schools, all while South African police looked on, reports The PUNCH.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said, “Our citizens are being harassed. Our citizens’ properties are being looted. Criminal actions are being perpetrated, and the police refuse to do anything. The South African government has not come out strongly and firmly enough to condemn these incidents.
“To say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue. People who are doing legitimate business have their shops looted, their shops set on fire. Children cannot go to school because they are intimidated in their schools.”
The minister cited Nigeria’s historical sacrifice for South Africa’s freedom, a sacrifice she argued makes the current treatment of Nigerians especially painful and unacceptable.
“Nigeria is not happy with South Africa. Nigeria sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence. Nigeria committed funds, committed resources. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students.
“My own generation, we carried placards, we demonstrated in front of South African assets. Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria is a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated,” she said.
On the nature of the attacks, she said, “They are not asking other migrants to leave. They are only asking black migrants to leave.”
When asked whether Nigeria was considering retaliatory measures, including the suspension or review of privileges currently enjoyed by South African businesses and nationals in Nigeria, the minister said, “That is a situation that we are considering. This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government. But it is not off the table.”
The House of Representatives had earlier recommended a temporary suspension of business permits for South African companies operating in Nigeria, and the Senate resolved to send a high-level delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio to South Africa to formally express Nigeria’s displeasure.
On the evacuation exercise, Ojukwu confirmed that President Tinubu had approved five Air Peace evacuation flights and directed a crisis response unit to be immediately established within Nigeria’s consulate in Johannesburg and the mission in Pretoria.
As of yesterday, Monday, June 8, 1,092 Nigerians had voluntarily registered for repatriation, with the screening exercise now extended to June 10 to accommodate all applicants.
Over 500 Nigerians have so far been screened and cleared for evacuation.
The first flight, which was to airlift approximately 270 passengers out of Johannesburg on Monday, was rescheduled to Wednesday due to logistical considerations, with the foreign ministry saying the delay was not caused by diplomatic setbacks but by operational issues requiring additional coordination.
The minister explained that the evacuation, being undertaken in coordination with the National Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies, would be followed by rehabilitation support.
She stated, “This evacuation is being undertaken with NEMA. We are doing that with various government agencies and parastatals to ensure that once Nigerians come in, they can be rehabilitated.”
The current crisis was triggered by anti-immigration protests organised by groups including Operation Dudula and March for March in late April 2026, which generated widespread anxiety among foreign nationals across multiple South African provinces.
South Africa’s government has publicly objected to Nigeria’s evacuation plans, with South Africa’s foreign minister expressing concern and misgivings about the exercise during a call with Ojukwu on May 7.
Ojukwu said she held her ground, explaining to her South African counterpart, “I maintained that our government cannot stand by and watch the systematic harassment and humiliation of our nationals resident in South Africa as well as the extrajudicial killings of our people, and that the evacuation of our citizens who want to return home remains our government’s priority at this time.”
The federal government on May 4 summoned South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele, for urgent talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja.
Waves of xenophobic violence erupted in 2008, 2015 and 2019, each time displacing and killing foreign nationals, many of whom are Nigerians, and straining the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Amid severe attacks in 2019, Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema had offered free evacuation flights for Nigerians wishing to leave.
Nigeria had recalled its High Commissioner from Pretoria as several South African businesses in Nigeria faced retaliatory attacks.
