Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has warned that the safety of African immigrants in South Africa is rapidly deteriorating, stating there are ‘no signs that the situation is improving’.
The warning came alongside an announcement of additional evacuation flights for Nigerian citizens, following the recent deaths of two nationals, Musa Yunana Joe and Charles Iroegbu, under highly disputed circumstances during ongoing anti-immigrant demonstrations.
According to Nigeria’s foreign ministry, both men were killed on June 28. Joe was reportedly killed by unidentified criminals in front of his shop in eMalahleni, whilst Iroegbu died whilst under interrogation by South African police in Pretoria.
In a sharp diplomatic warning, the ministry stated that the South African government is on notice, and Nigeria will activate ‘all options on the table’ if the provocative trend of intolerance and violence against foreigners is not immediately addressed.
In response, South African foreign ministry spokesman Chrispin Phiri urged the Nigerian High Commission to submit actionable information to local law enforcement to facilitate a thorough investigation.
The diplomatic friction follows weeks of aggressive, anti-immigrant marches across South Africa, where local protesters blame undocumented workers from other African nations for job scarcity and straining public social services.
The South African government faces mounting criticism for failing to curb the violence, which has already resulted in several fatalities alongside the widespread looting and torching of immigrant-owned businesses.
The crisis has triggered a broader regional fallout. Mozambique reported that five of its citizens were killed in xenophobic attacks in late May, though South Africa officially disputes the figure, claiming only two died, whilst Ghana entered a diplomatic row with Pretoria last week over the killing of a Ghanaian national.
As fear mounts following a recent June 30 anti-immigrant deadline pushed by online campaigns, hundreds of Nigerians have joined tens of thousands of fleeing foreigners, with Uganda’s High Commission also confirming the voluntary repatriation of its fourth group of citizens.
