The Federal Government has announced that another 271 Nigerians affected by the recent xenophobic protests in South Africa will arrive in Lagos on Friday as efforts to evacuate citizens who opted to return home continue.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, saying the latest batch would bring the government closer to completing the evacuation of Nigerians who voluntarily registered for repatriation.
According to the ministry, the third evacuation flight is scheduled to land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026, with 271 returnees on board.
The ministry said 593 Nigerians have already been evacuated from South Africa in previous operations.
It explained that the first batch of 258 evacuees arrived in Lagos on June 11 aboard a special Air Peace flight. They were received by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, on behalf of the Federal Government before being handed over to relevant ministries, departments and agencies for documentation and profiling.
The ministry noted that logistical challenges delayed the second evacuation flight, forcing some Nigerians to remain temporarily at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, where they were accommodated and cared for by the mission.
It added that a Nigerian philanthropist sponsored the airfare for 66 stranded nationals, who returned to Lagos on June 24, while another 269 evacuees arrived on June 30 aboard the second government-arranged evacuation flight.
According to the ministry, three additional evacuation flights will be operated in the coming days to bring home about 700 more Nigerians who have voluntarily registered, been screened and cleared for evacuation.
The ministry also dismissed allegations that officials of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa demanded money from intending evacuees before including them on the evacuation list.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to place on record that all the special evacuation flights are fully paid for by the Federal Government and at no cost to the returnees. This clarification is necessitated by insinuations and false allegations that some staff of the Nigerian Mission were requesting money before enlisting our nationals for the evacuation flights. That is totally false, fake news, and should be discarded,” the statement said.
The ministry commended the cooperation of relevant ministries, departments and agencies involved in the evacuation exercise, describing the collaboration as instrumental to the success of the operation.
It reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting Nigerians living abroad, stating that the evacuation reflects Nigeria’s foreign policy priority of safeguarding its citizens wherever they may be.
“The evacuation process clearly underscores the priority accorded to the protection of Nigerian citizens overseas, which remains a central pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy and a core responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It also reflects the Government’s determination to ensure that Nigerians affected by crises abroad receive the necessary support, dignity, and care. The lives of Nigerians living abroad matter, and we are trying our best as a Ministry to give them a sense of belonging,” the ministry stated.
