2nd Evacuation Flight Brings 269 Nigerians Home From South Africa

A second evacuation flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday with 269 Nigerians fleeing growing xenophobic threats, as the federal government intensified efforts to bring home citizens willing to return.

The Air Peace flight landed at 10:48 a.m. and was received by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

Ebienfa said the latest batch followed the arrival of 66 Nigerians who returned on June 24 aboard a South African Airways flight facilitated by a well-meaning Nigerian.

The 269 returnees were escorted by officials of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa and officially received at the airport by a delegation led by the director of the African Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe.

Ali-Gombe conveyed the greetings of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the returnees and reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to protecting Nigerians living abroad.

He said that despite the June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa, the evacuation exercise remained ongoing and more flights would arrive in the coming days.

“With the June 30 deadline on undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa, the federal government wishes to reiterate the fact that the evacuation process is still on course and more flights are expected in the country in the next few days to evacuate all Nigerians that have been screened and cleared to voluntarily return to the country.

“Government will continue to engage South African authorities at the highest levels to ensure the protection of Nigerian nationals living in the country,” the statement said.

Nigeria had earlier received 258 citizens in the first batch of evacuees as authorities stepped up efforts to assist Nigerians affected by recurring xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa.