A fresh batch of 271 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday as part of the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme.
The returnees were airlifted by Air Peace from Johannesburg, with the aircraft landing in Lagos shortly before 11 a.m.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission received the evacuees on arrival.
The latest evacuation is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to assist Nigerians who have chosen to return home amid growing anti-immigration tensions in South Africa, ahead of a June 30 deadline reportedly issued by some vigilante groups and organisations calling for undocumented migrants to leave the country.
Earlier this month, President Bola Tinubu approved the voluntary evacuation exercise after hundreds of Nigerians indicated interest in returning home.
Speaking ahead of the operation, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed that the flight would bring another group of Nigerians back to the country.
“The return flight is scheduled to depart South Africa at 12:00 midnight and is expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday morning. This will bring home 271 additional Nigerians who have volunteered to return,” Ebienfa said.
He added that about 700 more Nigerians could still be evacuated depending on developments in South Africa.
Also commenting before the flight departed, Air Peace spokesperson Efe Osifo-Whiskey said the airline was preparing to evacuate 271 Nigerians, although the aircraft experienced unexpected delays before take-off.
“We are looking at evacuating 271 people, but let us see what happens when they arrive in Lagos,” he said.
Before Tuesday’s evacuation, 328 Nigerians had already returned from South Africa in two separate batches. The first flight brought home 262 Nigerians on June 11, while another 66 arrived in Lagos on June 25.
Meanwhile, security was heightened across parts of South Africa on Tuesday as police maintained a strong presence in major cities following anti-immigration protests.
In Johannesburg, several businesses remained closed while security personnel monitored the situation. In Durban, protesters dressed in traditional Zulu attire gathered in a public park, chanting “Abahambe”—meaning “Let them go”—as law enforcement officers kept watch over the demonstrations.
