Logistics Delay First Flight for Nigerians in South Africa
Last update: June 8, 2026
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Stuck in South Africa amid rising tensions? The first flight home has been pushed back — here’s what returning Nigerians need to know.
Right, so plans to bring Nigerians home from South Africa have hit a bit of a snag. The Federal Government has had to reschedule the first evacuation flight, according to cbinews.tv.
Originally, that first Air Peace flight was meant to take off from Johannesburg on Monday. But Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that it’s now been moved to Wednesday. Why? Logistical challenges, apparently. They’re still sorting out operational arrangements and regulatory clearances.
What’s actually happening on the ground
This delay comes as Nigerian authorities try to help citizens who’ve said they don’t feel safe anymore. There’s been a rise in xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa, and understandably, people want out.
President Bola Tinubu has given the green light for five evacuation flights in total, all to be run by Air Peace. For this first one, they’re expecting about 270 passengers once all the permits are secured.
The screening isn’t over either. If you’re a Nigerian in South Africa and you’ve registered to come home, you’ve now got until Wednesday to get through the process. The Nigerian Mission in Pretoria is still busy verifying identities to keep the return orderly. So far, over 500 people have been screened and cleared.
The bigger picture
The FG is keeping in close contact with our diplomatic missions over there while monitoring the situation. This all follows earlier reports from Nairametrics that more than 1,000 Nigerians were set to be repatriated amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment.
And it’s serious. The Nigerian community in South Africa claims at least 105 Nigerians have been killed there over the past seven years due to recurring xenophobic violence. That’s according to a joint statement from the Nigerian Union South Africa and the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa, signed by Smart Nwobi and Frank Onyekwelu.
So yes — flight delayed, but efforts to get people home safely are still very much underway.
Source: cbinews.tv
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