ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) 鈥� Nigeria will repatriate 130 Nigerians living in South Africa after a in that country, according to the foreign minister, who summoned South Africa’s top representative there on Monday to express concern.
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, described the repatriation effort as voluntary and said more people were expected to sign up.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu was meeting with South Africa鈥檚 acting high commissioner to convey the Nigerian government鈥檚 “profound concern.鈥�
No Nigerians were killed in last week鈥檚 protests against migrants in South Africa, who have been targeted over the years and accused of taking jobs in a country with high unemployment.
South African officials have condemned the violence and promised to crack down on 鈥渪enophobic acts.”
Separately, South Africa鈥檚 foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, said he had a phone conversation with his Nigerian counterpart to reflect on the 鈥渃hallenges posed by irregular migration鈥� and work to address the causes and find solutions.
Two Nigerians were killed in separate incidents with South African security operatives last month. After Monday鈥檚 meeting, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the West African nation has requested an investigation into their deaths and seeks cooperation 鈥渋n providing autopsy reports鈥� for the families of the deceased.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
