With anti migrant violence rising in South Africa, the Federal Government says every Nigerian who wants to come home will be airlifted before the June 30 deadline.

The Federal Government has promised that all Nigerians in South Africa who have asked to return home will be evacuated before June 30, as anti migrant attacks continue, cbinews.tv reports.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, gave the assurance in a press statement on Thursday, signed by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze.

She said the Tinubu administration is committed to the safety and welfare of Nigerians abroad and will make sure no citizen willing to leave South Africa is left behind.

The evacuation is already underway. The first batch of 258 Nigerians was airlifted and received by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on June 11.

About 1,000 Nigerians have registered for evacuation. That means over 742 people are still expected to be flown home in the coming days.

Odumegwu Ojukwu said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that Nigerians facing danger and harassment in South Africa who voluntarily want to return should be assisted without delay.

The president, she added, is concerned about reports of discrimination and attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants living there.

Nigeria is still engaging South African authorities through diplomatic channels while looking at other lawful options. Any further action will follow constitutional provisions and due legislative process.

“When your citizens are being harassed, when your citizens are people who have spent years there, and mind you, some of them are married to South Africans and have children who have known no other home but South Africa, then it becomes a serious concern,” the minister said.

She also raised concerns about what she called unequal treatment of Nigerians, despite the large presence of South African businesses operating in Nigeria.

Anti migrant vigilante groups, she said, have not only put lives and businesses at risk but have also damaged South Africa’s image across Africa and internationally.

Odumegwu Ojukwu revealed that South African authorities declined to activate a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Nigeria in October 2025. The MoU was meant to set up an early warning mechanism to protect citizens of both countries during periods of tension.

South Africa later argued that those who signed on its behalf lacked the authority to make it binding and that more procedures were needed before it could take effect.

Countries including Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have also started evacuating their nationals as concerns over the attacks grow.

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