The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has said the administration of President Bola Tinubu may consider retaliatory measures against South Africa over what she described as the country’s complacent and apathetic response to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other African foreigners.
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Odumegwu-Ojukwu spoke with journalists in Abuja on Monday, saying the Federal Government was unhappy with South Africa’s handling of recurring xenophobic violence.
According to her, the South African government has not done enough to address the decades-long attacks, which have made several parts of the country unsafe for Nigerians and other African migrants.
“This is a situation that we are considering, but it is up to our legislature,” she said.
“It is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table.”
The minister said the latest wave of xenophobic violence led to the death of two Nigerians, Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew.
The Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg had reported in April that the victims were allegedly attacked and beaten by officials of the South African National Defence Force in Port Elizabeth.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu lamented that Nigerians in South Africa continue to face victimisation despite Nigeria’s historic sacrifices during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
She recalled that Nigeria provided financial, military, diplomatic and humanitarian support to South Africa between the 1960s and 1990s.
“Nigeria has sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence. Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds, committed resources to aid South Africa,” she said.
The minister also rejected claims by the South African government that the attacks were targeted only at illegal immigrants.
She said many Nigerians with valid legal status in South Africa had also been harassed, while their shops, homes and businesses had been looted or destroyed.
“That is absolutely untrue,” she said.
“Citizens are being harassed. Citizens, their properties are being looted. Criminal actions are perpetuated on our citizens.”
Her comments came days after the Nigerian Police warned citizens against retaliatory attacks on South African interests in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced plans to repatriate about 1,000 Nigerians from South Africa.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the government would deploy aircraft to bring the evacuees back to Nigeria after the ongoing verification exercise is completed.
He added that the government would bear the cost of their return flights.
The evacuation, earlier scheduled for Monday, was postponed to Wednesday due to what the ministry described as unforeseen logistical considerations. The screening timeline was also extended to accommodate more Nigerians willing to return.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said preparations for the exercise were ongoing, assuring that Nigerians endangered by the violence would have an opportunity to return home.
According to her, those affected “will have the chance of getting on this aircraft to be brought back to their country.”
The development comes amid renewed concern over the safety of Nigerians in South Africa and growing calls for stronger diplomatic action to protect citizens abroad.
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