Nigeria’s foreign minister said the government will repatriate 130 Nigerians living in South Africa following a new wave of anti-immigration protests there, and said the decision was driven by concern over the violence. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the Nigerian government summoned the principal representative of South Africa in Nigeria for talks after the protests.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu characterized the repatriation as “voluntary” and said additional people were expected to sign up for the process. She said she met with the interim high commissioner of South Africa to communicate the Nigerian government’s “deep concern,” according to the report.
The foreign minister said no Nigerian died in the protests that took place during the previous week in South Africa. She described the anti-immigration demonstrations as protests by some residents against migrants, who for years have faced accusations in the country of taking jobs amid high unemployment.
South African authorities, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said, condemned violence tied to the protests and promised to take action against “xenófobos” — xenophobic acts. In a separate development, South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, said he spoke by telephone with Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Lamola said the call addressed “desafíos que plantea la migración irregular” — the challenges posed by irregular migration — and focused on working to address the drivers of the problem and find solutions. The report said the two ministers discussed steps to deal with the broader migration issue beyond the protests.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry spokesperson also said the country had requested an investigation into deaths of two Nigerians in separate incidents involving South African security officers last month. After the Monday meeting, the spokesperson said Nigeria sought cooperation “para proporcionar los informes de autopsia” — to provide autopsy reports — to the families of the people who died.
The repatriation plan and the diplomatic exchanges between the two countries come as both sides sought to address the immediate unrest and its underlying causes, including irregular migration and public hostility toward migrants.