President Bola Tinubu has ordered another round of evacuations for Nigerian nationals in South Africa following renewed xenophobic protests and anti-immigrant threats in the country….
President Bola Tinubu has ordered another round of evacuations for Nigerian nationals in South Africa following renewed xenophobic protests and anti-immigrant threats in the country.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this in a statement posted on her X handle on Monday, June 29, saying the latest evacuation exercise is part of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of Nigerians living in South Africa.
According to the minister, the latest evacuation flight, operated by Air Peace and fully funded by the Federal Government, was expected to arrive at the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon to airlift Nigerians wishing to return home before the deadline issued by anti-migrant groups in South Africa.
She revealed that the fresh evacuation followed an earlier operation approved by the Federal Government last week, which brought home 66 Nigerians, mostly women and children in vulnerable conditions.
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“Following the first evacuation flight, the Federal Government, last week, approved another evacuation of 66 Nigerians, mostly women and children in the most vulnerable conditions, who arrived Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on 24 June 2026,” she stated.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said President Tinubu had directed that the evacuation exercise should continue even after the deadline set by anti-migrant groups to ensure that every Nigerian willing to return home is evacuated.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has further directed that the evacuations will continue, even after the deadline has elapsed to ensure that no Nigerian citizen, who wants to come back to our home country is left behind,” the minister said.
She added that relevant government agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), would receive the returnees at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
According to her, the agencies will carry out on-site documentation, health screening and profiling of the evacuees upon arrival.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to the welfare and protection of Nigerians living abroad.
“The safety of our citizens abroad remains the core of the citizen diplomacy imperative of the Renewed Hope Agenda. We have an unbreakable commitment to protecting our citizens outside national borders, and upholding the sovereign bond between our Nation and its nationals, especially those that are imperiled,” she said.
She also conveyed the government’s message to the returning citizens, saying: “To the Returnees, in advance we say, ‘Welcome back to the Homeland.’”