Xenophobia: 105 more Nigerians repatriated from South Africa

Another group of Nigerians from South Africa has arrived in the country as xenophobic attacks on black foreigners persist, and an uneasy quiescence increasingly defines Nigeria-South Africa relations.

The batch of 105 Nigerians was repatriated to Nigeria last Thursday. The group comprised 83 adults and 23 students, and state officials received them.

In a statement shared on X on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said donations from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) funded the return of 100 of the 105 Nigerians.

It said the church donated over $265,854 to purchase one-way tickets to evacuate 500 distressed Nigerians from South Africa.

“The return of the remaining five was funded by the generous donation of a private Nigerian citizen,” it said.

“The returnees, comprising 82 adults and 23 children, arrived in Lagos on South African Airways (SAA) Flight SA060 on Thursday, 24 September 2026, at approximately 20:30 hours.

“Nigeria’s diplomatic mission continues to engage with the leadership of the RCCG in South Africa and other philanthropic groups and individuals, as some other distressed Nigerians are currently undergoing preliminary clearance with our Consulate in Johannesburg and relevant South African authorities. They will be evacuated as soon as the process is finalised.”

Around 1,640 Nigerians have been evacuated from the country since the recent wave of xenophobia began in April. A batch of 33 Nigerians was repatriated last month.

At least five Nigerians have been killed since the violence began.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the most recent incident in July. The victim, Chika Simon, died during an encounter with the South African Police Service (SAPS)

The Nigerian consulate said he died under questionable circumstances.

This paper also reported previous deaths. These are: Amaramiro Emmanuel, Ekpenyong Andrew, Emeka Iroegbu and Musa Joe.

The first two victims, Mr Emmanuel and Mr Andrew, were murdered in April, allegedly by personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Port Elizabeth.

Mr Andrew’s corpse was found days after his arrest on 19 April in the Booysens area of Pretoria. He was arrested due to an alleged altercation with members of the Tshwane Metro Police, and his body was discovered at the Pretoria Central Mortuary afterwards.

Mr Emmanuel died a day afterwards due to injuries he sustained from an alleged attack by the SANDF.

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The Nigerian government, in response to the incident, summoned the South African High Commissioner to demand a thorough investigation into the death of the two Nigerians. But two other Nigerians soon followed.

Emeka Iroegbu and Musa Joe were killed on 28 June, under different circumstances.

Mr Joe was killed by “suspected criminals” in Witbank city, Mpumalanga province, while Mr Iroegbu was tortured to death by officers of the Tshwane Metro Police in the suburbs of Pretoria.

Months later, the investigations into these cases are still pending, and no arrests have been made.