The Federal Government will today airlift 271 Nigerians stranded in South Africa, as fears of xenophobic violence grow ahead of a June 30 ultimatum issued by anti-immigration vigilante groups.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an Air Peace aircraft will leave Nigeria at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 29, and is expected to land in South Africa around 9:00 p.m. local time.
Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said the evacuation flight will depart South Africa at 12:00 a.m. and arrive at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday morning.
“The Federal Government will resume the evacuation of our nationals from South Africa today,” Ebienfa said in a statement.
The vigilante groups have given undocumented foreign nationals — particularly Black Africans — until June 30 to leave the country. The deadline has triggered widespread fear of renewed xenophobic attacks.
South African authorities have condemned the threats and deployed police and military personnel nationwide to maintain security. Several other African countries have also begun evacuating their citizens.
The evacuation comes after 66 Nigerians were repatriated from South Africa in a previous exercise.
