The Nigerian government has received another batch of 269 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa, as authorities intensify efforts to bring home citizens choosing to leave the country amid protests following an unofficial June 30 deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa. The returnees arrived on an Air Peace flight that landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, where they were received by the Director of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe. This brings the total number of returnees so far to 593.
The Nigerian government had announced on Monday that at least 271 Nigerian nationals in South Africa would be repatriated on Tuesday, continuing its voluntary repatriation programme for citizens fleeing a recent wave of anti-immigration tensions and xenophobic attacks. Hundreds of Nigerians have requested assistance to return home, with officials confirming that more than 1,000 citizens have registered for the voluntary evacuation exercise. The first batch of 258 returnees arrived on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
The unrest behind this exodus has been building for weeks, with demonstrators demanding undocumented foreigners leave the country by June 30. Nigerians have frequently been among the primary targets of xenophobic violence in South Africa, alongside migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Ethiopia, Somalia and other African nations, with previous waves of such attacks resulting in deaths, injuries, destroyed businesses and mass displacement. The Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria has urged citizens still in the country to remain calm, avoid areas dominated by protesters, and stay in close contact with the mission for safety updates, as President Bola Tinubu’s government continues coordinating with South African authorities to manage the crisis.
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