The Federal Government has assured Nigerians still residing in South Africa of their safety, even as fresh concerns over xenophobic tensions and renewed anti-immigrant protests continue to trigger calls for stronger diplomatic action.
This comes after Nigerians reportedly stormed the country’s embassy in Pretoria as xenophobic tensions escalated, while another batch of 269 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday aboard an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg, marking the second government-oriented evacuation exercise in recent weeks.
Nigerian business man popularly known as “Big Joe” was reportedly shot and killed by unidentified gunmen o. Sunday outside his shop in Witbank, Mpumalanga Province, though local police have not announced cause of his death.
Thousands of local marched in major cities on Tuesday, calling for the removal of undocumented migrants from the country.
Police officers, supported by private security personnel, were deployed amid concerns that the demonstration could turn violent.
In the wake of the protests, many foreign nationals have reportedly fled their communities due to fear of violence and intimidation.
South African police said about 25,000 migrants have been repatriated so far, most of them from other African counties.
-9News Nigeria.
