FG receives 270 Nigerian returnees from South Africa
The Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has received 270 Nigerian returnees from South Africa under the ongoing voluntary return programme.
The agency disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Mohammed Olatunde, Head of Operations, NEMA Lagos Operations Office, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
Olatunde said the returnees, who had registered for the programme and completed the required screening processes, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday.
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According to him, officials of NEMA, other government agencies and relevant stakeholders were on ground to receive the returnees and facilitate their reintegration.
He said the Federal Government provided transportation to convey the returnees to their various destinations across the country.
Olatunde added that ambulance services and other emergency medical support were made available for those requiring immediate medical attention.
The passengers were part of around 1,000 people who the Nigerian consulate in South Africa says have registered to be repatriated.
The returnees arrived aboard an Air Peace evacuation flight from Johannesburg at about 10.25 am.
The Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Alexander Ajayi, accompanied the 268 passengers from Pretoria.
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President Bola Tinubu approved five evacuation flights to be operated by Air Peace for the exercise.
The evacuees underwent documentation and profiling procedures upon arrival before being reunited with their families.
The evacuation follows an intensifying wave of anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa, where an unemployment rate of more than 30 per cent has fuelled xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.
Protest marches have been held in major cities, with groups carrying traditional weapons marching through industrial zones demanding the removal of undocumented migrants.
Tensions escalated sharply after a coalition of citizen groups issued a public ultimatum demanding that all undocumented foreign nationals vacate the country by 30 June.
Although Pretoria dismissed the deadline as unofficial, the announcement triggered immediate anxiety, prompting several African nations including Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique, to begin their own repatriation efforts.
The ministry disclosed that the ongoing screening exercise for Nigerians willing to voluntarily return home has been extended to Sunday, 14 June 2026, to accommodate more affected persons.
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