'Your nation is waiting to embrace you' — Nigeria to welcome evacuees from South Africa

Nigeria's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has stated that the country is ready to welcome the first batch of Nigerian citizens evacuated from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants.

The returnees are expected to arrive in Lagos on Thursday, June 11, as part of an evacuation exercise ordered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to protect Nigerians who feel their lives are at risk due to the violence.

The evacuation, funded by the Nigerian government and carried out by Air Peace Airlines, involves 262 Nigerian nationals and three officials who departed Johannesburg's Oliver Tambo International Airport on Thursday morning.

"On this day, 11th June 2026, the first batch of our Nationals who are being evacuated from South Africa as a result of the Xenophobic attacks against African Migrants taking place in that country, will touch down on Nigerian Soil," Odumegwu-Ojukwu wrote in a social media statement on Thursday.

The minister said the evacuation was in line with the government's citizen diplomacy policy under President Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and was aimed at safeguarding the lives of affected Nigerians.

According to her, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, would receive the returnees at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on behalf of the government while she remains in Addis Ababa to finalise arrangements for the transfer of more than 100 Nigerian prisoners back home from Ethiopian prisons.

She disclosed that four Nigerian inmates in Ethiopia had died due to health-related challenges and stressed the need to prevent further deaths.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu acknowledged the trauma experienced by the evacuees and assured them that government agencies had made the necessary arrangements to support them upon arrival before they reunite with their families.

The evacuation follows reports of attacks on foreign-owned businesses and migrants in parts of South Africa, prompting several African countries, including Ghana, to take steps to protect and evacuate their citizens.

Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier announced that the Federal Government would provide reintegration support for all returnees.