Eighty-three Nigerians have returned home from South Africa following a repatriation exercise supported by private individuals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg. They were accompanied by two officials of the Nigerian Consulate-General in Johannesburg.
The ministry said the returnees’ flight tickets were sponsored by private individuals who supported efforts to bring them safely back to Nigeria.
They were received on behalf of the Federal Government by the Director of the African Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe, and handed over to relevant government agencies for documentation and profiling.
The process will precede their reunification with their families.
The latest return comes after Nigeria evacuated 1,490 citizens from South Africa between June and July following xenophobic attacks and growing anti-foreigner tensions.
The ministry commended the private sponsors, the Nigerian mission in South Africa, and other agencies involved, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting the welfare and safety of Nigerians abroad.
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