KEY POINTS

• Nigeria says it may review South Africa’s bilateral privileges over renewed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.
• Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu rejects claims that the targeted Nigerians are illegal migrants.
• Tinubu approved five Air Peace evacuation flights, with over 1,000 Nigerians registered to return.

The Federal Government on Monday said it is displeased with South Africa’s failure to respond firmly to renewed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, and it warned that retaliatory diplomatic measures, including a review of bilateral privileges, remain firmly on the table. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, briefed State House correspondents after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Abuja rejects ‘illegal migrant’ claim

The minister flatly rejected claims by some South African authorities that the targeted Nigerians are illegal migrants. According to her, attackers harass Nigerian passport holders, loot and burn their shops and intimidate their children in schools while the police look on. “To say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue,” she said.

Furthermore, Odumegwu-Ojukwu invoked Nigeria’s sacrifices for South Africa’s freedom, which she said make the current treatment especially painful. “Nigeria sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence. Nigeria committed funds, committed resources. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students,” she said. Moreover, she stressed that the attackers single out one group, noting, “They are not asking other migrants to leave. They are only asking black migrants to leave.” When asked about possible retaliation against South African businesses in Nigeria, she said the option remains under consideration at the highest level.

Evacuation flights and political pressure

Meanwhile, lawmakers have ramped up pressure on Pretoria. The House of Representatives earlier recommended a temporary suspension of business permits for South African companies, while the Senate resolved to send a high-level delegation, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to convey Nigeria’s displeasure.

On evacuation, Odumegwu-Ojukwu confirmed that Tinubu approved five Air Peace flights and ordered a crisis response unit in the Johannesburg consulate and the Pretoria mission. As of June 8, about 1,092 Nigerians had registered for repatriation, and officials extended screening to June 10 to cover all applicants. So far, the team has cleared more than 500 people. However, the first flight, set to airlift about 270 passengers from Johannesburg on Monday, shifted to Wednesday over logistics rather than diplomatic setbacks.

Consequently, the minister said the evacuation, run with the National Emergency Management Agency, would lead into rehabilitation support at home. The crisis followed anti-immigration protests by groups such as Operation Dudula in late April 2026, and it echoes earlier waves of violence in 2008, 2015 and 2019 that repeatedly strained ties between the two countries.