Another group of 67 Nigerians has returned home from South Africa, arriving at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos late Wednesday night.
The returnees touched down at 8:45 pm aboard a South African Airways flight. Officials from the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons were on ground to receive them.
Alex Oturu, the South West coordinator of NEMA, said this batch left due to ongoing xenophobic tensions in South Africa. He added that the trip was made possible by well-meaning Nigerians who covered flight tickets and other support costs for those returning.
Last Thursday, 83 Nigerians came back on a similar repatriation flight.
South Africa has long attracted migrants from across the continent, but it has also faced repeated waves of anti-foreigner violence for nearly 20 years. Protests escalated this year after vigilante groups told undocumented foreigners to leave by June 30.
The scale of departures has grown quickly. An AFP count based on data from African countries repatriating their citizens puts the number of people who have left South Africa in recent weeks at more than 176,000.
South African police say at least four migrants have been killed in the violence, though some foreign governments believe the figure is higher.
The attacks have drawn diplomatic pushback. Ghana has called for an African Union debate on the issue at the next AU summit early next year. Nigeria, which has had several diplomatic rows with Pretoria over attacks on its citizens, is also pressing for the matter to be placed on the AU agenda.
