Nigeria evacuates citizens from South Africa after anti-migrant attacks

A government-chartered flight carrying Nigerian citizens fleeing xenophobic attacks in South Africa arrived in Lagos on June 11, according to RFI, the first group in a wider repatriation effort after weeks of anti-migrant violence.

Nigeria has become the latest African country to organise evacuation flights from South Africa. RFI reported that 262 Nigerians were repatriated in the first group and that the Nigerian government had chartered four more flights over the following two weeks. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said 1,092 Nigerians had registered to leave South Africa voluntarily.

The evacuations are not limited to Nigeria. RFI and News.Az, citing RFI, reported that Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mozambique and Malawi had already repatriated hundreds of their citizens in recent weeks. The violence followed anti-immigration protests that began in April and turned into attacks on foreign workers.

South Africa has long drawn both documented and undocumented African workers, but recurring waves of xenophobic violence have marked the country since 2008, when dozens of migrants died and thousands were displaced. In the latest violence, RFI reported that two Mozambicans were killed, while Nigerian outlet The Sun published accounts from returnees describing shootings, looting and assaults. One returnee said 12 people were shot in his presence, including Malawians selling tomatoes; that individual account is serious but is not independently verified by the other supplied sources.

The public claim driving the attacks is familiar: with unemployment above 30 percent, angry locals accuse other Africans of taking jobs. Cécile Perrot, a post-apartheid South Africa specialist, told RFI that migrants are being made scapegoats amid poverty and unemployment, while social media amplifies hate speech and anger.

Nigeria’s response has moved beyond consular logistics into diplomatic pressure. Focus on Africa reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Ojukwu said Nigeria was dissatisfied with Pretoria’s response and rejected claims that the victims were irregular migrants, saying many were legitimate residents and entrepreneurs whose properties had been looted. The same report quoted her as saying retaliatory measures were not off the table while diplomatic engagement continued.

The human consequences sit in the details of flight lists, closed businesses and people deciding that staying is no longer safe. Returnees quoted by The Sun described being profiled, accused of criminality, beaten, and having businesses looted. The supplied sources do not provide a full casualty count, a verified national breakdown of victims, or official South African police data on arrests and prosecutions connected to the attacks.

The requested claim that Pretoria has announced tougher migration measures is not verified in the supplied evidence. The sources show anti-migrant unrest, criticism of South Africa’s response, evacuation flights by African governments, and pressure on Pretoria, but they do not provide a specific new migration policy, enforcement measure, legal text, official announcement, or timetable from South African authorities.

What is verified is a regional strain moving through people and diplomacy at the same time. Evacuation flights by Nigeria and other African governments turn anti-migrant violence inside South Africa into a cross-border issue affecting workers, small businesses, families, diplomatic relations and the politics of migration across the continent.