Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Over 500 Nigerians have registered to be evacuated from South Africa amid renewed xenophobic violence, which has intensified fears for the safety of foreign residents living in the country.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Government has shifted the scheduled evacuation flight from Monday to Wednesday, citing logistical reasons.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed that President Bola Tinubu had approved five evacuation flights to facilitate the voluntary return of Nigerians affected by the ongoing tensions in South Africa.
According to him, Air Peace will handle the evacuation exercise, and the first flight is now expected to depart Johannesburg on Wednesday evening after the completion of all necessary approvals and clearances.
“The proposed airlifting of the first batch of returnees from South Africa, originally scheduled for Monday, has been rescheduled to Wednesday due to unforeseen logistical considerations,” Ebienfa said.
He added that screening and verification of Nigerians willing to return had been extended to Wednesday at the Nigerian mission in Pretoria, as the number of applicants continues to rise.
So far, more than 500 Nigerians have been screened and cleared for evacuation, a figure that already exceeds the capacity of the initial aircraft assigned for the operation.
The first flight is expected to convey about 270 passengers, indicating that additional flights will be required to complete the evacuation process.
The intervention by the Federal Government comes in response to renewed incidents of xenophobic attacks on African migrants in South Africa, an ongoing issue that has periodically strained relations between both countries over the years.
As hundreds have been cleared for evacuation and additional applications continue to be processed, the operation is emerging as one of the most significant organised returns of Nigerians from South Africa in recent times.