The Nigerian government has begun an emergency evacuation of its citizens from South Africa following a surge in xenophobic attacks that have left at least five people dead and hundreds displaced. The violence, concentrated in Johannesburg and Pretoria, has targeted foreign-owned businesses, with looters setting fire to shops and warehouses in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods.
In a statement released late Wednesday, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a first batch of 300 nationals would be repatriated on Thursday via Air Peace, a Nigerian carrier. The evacuation comes after days of mounting pressure from civil society groups and lawmakers who accused President Muhammadu Buhari of failing to protect Nigerians abroad.
South African police have arrested over 300 suspects since the unrest began on Sunday, but the violence shows no sign of abating. In the township of Alexandra, armed mobs have erected barricades and patrol streets, demanding that foreigners leave. Similar scenes have been reported in Tembisa and Vosloorus.
The attacks have drawn sharp condemnation from several African governments, including Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. The African Union has called for calm, but its intervention remains limited. Analysts warn that the crisis could escalate into a diplomatic rupture, particularly with Nigeria, which is South Africa’s largest trading partner on the continent.
The root causes of the violence are complex. South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at 29 per cent, among the highest in the world, and competition for low-skilled jobs has fuelled resentment against migrants from other African countries. Politicians have been accused of stoking these tensions for electoral gain. Last week, the Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance, was recorded telling a gathering that the city was “overrun by illegal immigrants”.
Human rights groups have urged both governments to address the underlying drivers of xenophobia and to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted. Meanwhile, the evacuation continues. “We cannot risk our people’s lives,” said a Nigerian embassy official in Pretoria, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The situation is volatile.”
