The first group of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa has landed in Lagos. This evacuation follows weeks of increasing xenophobic attacks that led the government to organize a repatriation exercise.
A total of 262 returnees arrived on Wednesday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Cargo Airport). They came back on a specially arranged flight as part of the federal government's efforts to bring home citizens impacted by the unrest.
The flight touched down around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies were there to greet the evacuees. The returnees will go through profiling before they reunite with their families.
More groups of Nigerians are expected to return, but the specific numbers and arrival times are still unknown.
At least five African nations, including Nigeria, have brought their citizens back from South Africa due to the recent surge in xenophobic attacks.
Other countries include Ghana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Malawi.
The violence and anti-immigrant protests in various areas of South Africa have reignited a troubling trend that has lasted for many years. Attacks on African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers led the UN to warn that South Africa was “on the precipice of explosive xenophobic violence” in 2022.
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