Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - Nigerians on Monday, June 22, staged a protest at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa, over delays in the repatriation of citizens who had registered to return home.
On June 18, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca
Odumegwu-Ojukwu assured Nigerians living in South Africa that no citizen
willing to return home would be abandoned as a June 30 deadline set by
anti-migrant groups for undocumented foreigners to leave the country draws
near.
Her remarks followed the repatriation of 258 Nigerians from
South Africa, the first government-led evacuation amid rising xenophobic
attacks in the country.
The federal government had previously announced that four
more repatriation flights would return Nigerians from South Africa. However,
the second batch, initially scheduled for June 15, was subsequently postponed.
During the protest, many Nigerians expressed deep
frustration over the slow pace of the evacuation process. The demonstrators
said many of them had been left stranded after responding to the federal
government’s call for voluntary return.
Speaking during the protest, Smart Nwobu, president of the
Nigerian community in South Africa, appealed to the federal government and
relevant authorities to expedite the evacuation of stranded Nigerians.
“As you know, only one flight left. The question is, when is
the second batch? When is the third batch? When is the fourth batch?” Nwobu
asked. “We were promised that the second batch will be here on the 15th of
June. The 15th has come and left. People were made destitute and their
conditions worsened. Nigerians are now sleeping on the street, and their
documents have been cancelled as a result of that registration.”
He said the protesters gathered at the high commission to
express their dissatisfaction with the situation and urge the government to
complete the evacuation process before the end of June.
“We are appealing to the government. That is why they are
here; to show their frustration and that they are not happy with the
situation,” he added. “Nigerians are gathered here, calling on the government
to expedite the process and airlift them on or before June 30.”
Watch the video below:
Nigerians in South Africa stage peaceful protest over delayed repatriation (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/n3kAxvioNk
— DAILY POST 🇳🇬 (@dailypost_ng) June 23, 2026
){kind=link}
0 Comments