The total number of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa over xenophobic threats has risen to 2,037 after another batch of 111 citizens arrived home.
The latest group landed in Lagos on Thursday, October 8, aboard South African Airways flight SA060. They comprised 44 men, 23 women and 44 children.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi.
According to the ministry, the arrival was the 15th under the ongoing consular exercise which began on June 10, 2026. Officials of the ministry, alongside the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), received them on arrival.
The Federal Government said the latest flight was fully funded from a $265,854 donation by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). The fund is meant to support the return of 500 Nigerians in distress in South Africa.
So far, 1,388 of the 2,037 returnees had their travel costs fully covered by the Federal Government, while the RCCG intervention has provided one-way tickets for 318 persons, with 182 slots still outstanding under the church’s pledge.
The government expressed appreciation to the RCCG and its General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, for the support.
It reaffirmed its commitment to engage South African authorities to tackle xenophobia and Afrophobia and to ensure the safety of Nigerians living in that country, while urging nationals there to remain vigilant and maintain contact with the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria and the Consulate General in Johannesburg.
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