BREAKING: First batch of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrives in Lagos

The returnees were flown in on a government-arranged evacuation flight operated under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies.

The first group of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa has arrived in Lagos, following weeks of rising xenophobic attacks that triggered a government-coordinated repatriation exercise.

The returnees, totalling 262, arrived on Wednesday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport ( Cargo Airport) aboard a specially arranged evacuation flight, part of efforts by the federal government to bring home citizens affected by the unrest.

The flight landed at about 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies were on ground to receive the evacuees, who are expected to undergo profiling before being reunited with their families.

More batches of a Nigerian returnees are expected to arrive, but the exact number and time of arrival are yet to be known.

At least five African countries including Nigeria have evacuated their citizens from South Africa following the latest wave of xenophobic attacks there.

Others are Ghana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Malawi.

The violence and anti-immigrant protests in different parts of the country reignited the worrisome trend that has persisted for decades. Attacks on African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers made the UN predict that South Africa was “on the precipice of explosive xenophobic violence” in 2022.

More details later…