The Federal Government has announced the evacuation of another 83 Nigerians from South Africa, with the returnees expected to land at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the group would depart Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg at 3:35pm local time aboard a South African Airways flight, arriving in Lagos at about 8:45pm the same day.
The ministry said the evacuation was made possible through the intervention of public-spirited private individuals who sponsored the flight tickets, and expressed gratitude for their support.
This latest batch follows the conclusion of the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme, under which nearly 1,490 Nigerians have already been returned home amid rising Afrophobic attacks and anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa.
The ministry reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to protecting Nigerians both at home and abroad, describing citizens in the diaspora as key assets for national development under its Citizen Diplomacy agenda. It commended the private individuals and philanthropists behind the latest evacuation as a model of the “whole of society approach,” and urged the organised private sector, corporate bodies, state governments and other well-meaning Nigerians to support similar consular interventions going forward.
The government also pledged to deepen strategic partnerships with host countries, including South Africa, to tackle the root causes of Afrophobia, insisting that such attacks must be condemned and perpetrators held accountable.
S/Africa anti-immigration group sets fresh September 30 deadline
Meanwhile, South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has set September 30 as a new deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, staging a protest outside the SADC summit venue in Durban.
The group marched through central Durban, urging African leaders at the 46th SADC Summit to repatriate their citizens residing in South Africa without legal documentation. It had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30 demanding stricter action against undocumented migrants, and has vowed to sustain its campaign until the government meets its demands.
The group described its planned September 30 action as “the mother of all protests,” calling for mass deportation of undocumented foreigners and urging South Africans to report illegal immigrants to police.
The 46th Ordinary SADC Summit, bringing together leaders from the bloc’s 16 member states, is currently underway in Durban.
The renewed protest comes amid growing scrutiny of South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned the discrimination and violence, saying it was shameful that people from other countries had suffered mistreatment or been forced to flee, and that South Africa could not preach integration at summits while practising exclusion at home.
The June 30 protests had been marked by heightened security operations, with reports of attacks and looting in some areas. March and March continues to press for tougher immigration enforcement, even as several African nations move to evacuate their citizens over the ongoing tensions.
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