RismadarVoice Reporters, June 30, 2026
A fresh batch of 271 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived in Lagos on Tuesday under the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme.
The Air Peace flight touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport shortly before 11:00 a.m., following its departure from Johannesburg at about 5:00 a.m. local time.
The returnees were received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
The latest evacuation forms part of the Federal Government’s ongoing initiative to assist Nigerians who have chosen to return home amid growing anti-immigration tensions in South Africa.
The repatriation comes ahead of the June 30 deadline reportedly issued by some vigilante groups and organisations calling for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
Earlier this month, President Bola Tinubu approved the voluntary evacuation programme for Nigerians willing to return home. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently announced that five Air Peace evacuation flights had been approved after more than 500 Nigerians registered for repatriation.
Before Tuesday’s operation, 328 Nigerians had already been evacuated in two separate flights. The first batch of 262 returnees arrived on June 11, while another 66 Nigerians returned to Lagos on June 25.
Confirming the latest exercise on Monday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the evacuation flight departed Nigeria on Monday afternoon before proceeding to South Africa to bring back the registered evacuees.
He disclosed that the arrival of the latest batch brings the government’s repatriation efforts closer to completion, adding that about 700 more Nigerians could still be evacuated depending on developments in South Africa.
Air Peace spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, had earlier confirmed that the airline was scheduled to evacuate 271 Nigerians, noting that the flight experienced operational delays before eventually departing for the mission.
Meanwhile, security remained tight across several South African cities on Tuesday as police maintained a strong presence following anti-immigration demonstrations.
In Johannesburg, several businesses remained closed while security personnel were deployed to strategic locations as residents went about their daily activities.
The demonstrations were organised by a coalition of small political parties and citizen-led vigilante groups demanding the removal of undocumented migrants from the country.
In Durban, protesters dressed in traditional Zulu attire gathered in a public park, singing and chanting “Abahambe” a Zulu expression meaning “Let them go” while security operatives monitored the situation to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
