{"id":36420,"date":"2026-08-19T16:21:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=36420"},"modified":"2026-08-19T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:22:00","slug":"another-83-nigerians-set-to-return-from-south-africa-amid-xenophobic-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/19\/another-83-nigerians-set-to-return-from-south-africa-amid-xenophobic-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Another 83 Nigerians Set to Return from South Africa Amid Xenophobic Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Another 83 Nigerians are expected to return home from South Africa on Wednesday as concerns grow over attacks, discrimination and rising hostility toward foreign nationals in parts of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The returnees are scheduled to leave Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 3:35 p.m. local time aboard South African Airways and arrive at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at about 8:45 p.m., Nigeria\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest group is being brought home through a separate arrangement after private individuals stepped in to pay for their airline tickets. The Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed appreciation for the support, describing it as an example of cooperation between the government and members of the public during a consular emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development follows the conclusion of a larger voluntary repatriation programme that saw nearly 1,490 Nigerians leave South Africa and return to Nigeria amid concerns over Afrophobic attacks and anti foreigner sentiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the Nigerians making the journey home, the decision is about more than simply changing countries. It comes against a difficult background in which some African migrants have faced hostility, threats and pressure to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation has also attracted renewed attention after South Africa\u2019s anti immigration group, March and March, announced Sept. 30 as a new deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country. The development has added to anxiety among migrants and increased calls for authorities to protect people regardless of their nationality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria and South Africa have maintained close economic and diplomatic ties for decades, but relations between their citizens have occasionally been strained by xenophobic violence. Major outbreaks in 2008, 2015 and 2019 triggered strong reactions in Nigeria and led to calls from both governments for greater protection of foreign nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa previously condemned xenophobic violence against Nigerians, saying in 2019 that such attacks did not represent the values of his country. Those incidents showed how quickly tensions involving migrants can affect relations between two of Africa\u2019s most influential nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nigeria\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the government remains committed to protecting the welfare and dignity of Nigerians living abroad. It also called for stronger cooperation with host countries, including South Africa, to address the causes of Afrophobia and prevent violence and discrimination against Nigerians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has also stressed that criminal acts committed by individuals should not be used as justification for targeting entire communities. Authorities say anyone accused of wrongdoing should face the law as an individual rather than because of their nationality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The return of the 83 Nigerians therefore comes at a sensitive moment in relations between the two countries. While repatriation provides an immediate option for citizens who no longer feel safe or comfortable remaining in South Africa, the broader challenge is finding lasting solutions that allow Nigerians and other African migrants to live and work without fear of discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those arriving in Lagos, the journey home may bring relief. But for Nigeria and South Africa, the episode raises a much bigger question about how two major African nations can address migration, unemployment, crime and public frustration without allowing those challenges to turn into hostility against fellow Africans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another 83 Nigerians are expected to return home from South Africa on Wednesday as concerns grow over attacks, discrimination and rising hostility toward foreign nationals in parts of the country. The returnees are scheduled to leave Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 3:35 p.m. local time aboard South African Airways and arrive at Murtala […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":36421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8-PxeYCJdPXRYixgp2nE4AhwkCUpIbgdW6-iP-mu8awf1YyMQuwGF6D-27jJD0PqovqFsMfA7b4u4_-R6zBdaIiRgaM41wGdD7lXNYZr6YoHhkk79JKv4sHh0ZJxinBUEslRpkeh6dD8PHKtT9tECAcYswAY7gCZPPPN734fqmw.jpg?fit=1290%2C860&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36424,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36420\/revisions\/36424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}