The Nigerian Government is set to wrap up its verification and screening exercise for Nigerians evacuating from South Africa.
Spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, the profiling phase marks the final administrative hurdle before the physical deployment of emergency aircraft.
Officials confirmed that this critical groundwork has established a definitive headcount for Nigerians evacuating from South Africa.
The urgent repatriation scheme was triggered by a fresh wave of xenophobic unrest spreading through major South African urban centers, including Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban.
Following targeted harassment, destruction of migrant-owned shops, and tragic fatalities within foreign communities, over 1,000 worried citizens registered for government assistance to return home permanently.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, disclosed this to journalists on Saturday.
According to him, the exercise commenced on Thursday and is being conducted jointly by the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the South African Police, and immigration authorities.
Ebienfa said the screening would determine the exact number of Nigerians cleared for evacuation.
He added that after the exercise, the government would finalise arrangements for the deployment of aircraft to bring the affected citizens back to Nigeria.
He said: “The screening exercise of Nigerians in South Africa who have registered to be evacuated will end today.
“At the end of the screening, we will have a definite figure that has been cleared for evacuation. Thereafter, the government will finalise the details about the deployment of aircraft to bring them home,” he stated.
This comes after the Federal Government announced plans to evacuate willing Nigerians from South Africa last month following anti-immigrant protests in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The move was aimed at providing safe passage for Nigerians who no longer felt secure amid rising tensions targeting foreign nationals.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who disclosed in a recent post on her X account that 130 Nigerians initially registered for the programme, the figure was expected to increase as more citizens indicated interest in returning home.
Reports also note that the number of Nigerians seeking voluntary repatriation has risen to more than 1,000, up from the 130 initially recorded when the programme was announced in May.
