A total of 397 Nigerians are currently undergoing screening in South Africa as part of efforts to facilitate their return home amid rising xenophobic tensions and anti-foreigner campaigns in the country.
The exercise, which began on Thursday and is expected to conclude on Sunday, is being conducted under the supervision of the South African Police Service, the Department of Home Affairs, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
This was disclosed on Friday by the President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, Reverend Frank Onyekwelu.
He said more than 600 Nigerians had indicated interest in returning to Nigeria for various reasons, but only 397 were cleared after the screening process for the first evacuation flight.
According to him, the date for the initial flight has not yet been fixed, as the Nigerian Consulate and High Commission are working with the Federal Government to finalise arrangements.
“The screening for the repatriation started on Thursday and will end on Sunday, after which about 397 people will be on the first flight back home.”
Onyekwelu explained that many of those opting to return had lost their jobs, livelihoods, or valid immigration documents.
“Some of them have become undocumented migrants because their permits were not renewed. The screening is to ensure that those returning do not have criminal cases pending,” he added.
Reports indicate that since the beginning of the year, anti-foreigner protests have been recorded in several South African cities, including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, as well as areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with Nigerians among those affected.
In addition, authorities in the eThekwini Municipality reportedly moved foreign nationals in Durban to screening centres for documentation verification.
Some Nigerians are still awaiting further developments following threats in KwaZulu-Natal demanding that foreigners leave by June 30.
