Nigeria will repatriate about 600 citizens from South Africa this week following a wave of xenophobic violence which sparked sharp exchanges between the two countries, a Nigerian diplomat said Monday.
“They are about 600 now” to be flown back, Godwin Adamu, Nigerian Consul General in Johannesburg, told reporters.
A first flight will carry 320 Nigerians, he said, adding:
“We will have another one immediately after that.”
READ: South Africa vows to tackle xenophobic attacks against foreigners
Johannesburg and surrounding areas were rocked by a series of deadly attacks on foreigners last week, including many directed against Nigerian-owned businesses and properties.
At least 10 people were killed in the violence and hundreds of shops destroyed while more than 420 people were arrested.
More than 100,000 Nigerians are estimated to live in South Africa, Adamu said.
Foreign workers in South Africa — the continent’s second largest economy after Nigeria — are often victims of anti-immigrant sentiment in a nation where almost one in three people are unemployed.
READ: Nigeria promises to act against xenophobic attacks in South Africa
The violence prompted reprisal attacks against South African firms in Nigeria and the temporary closing of South Africa’s diplomatic missions in Lagos and Abuja.
Nigeria last week summoned the South African ambassador to condemn the violence while sending an envoy to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The envoy returned to Nigeria over the weekend, the presidency said.
After a week of hardening rhetoric against South Africa, Nigeria pledged to “work as brothers” with Pretoria on Thursday.
“Nigeria does not seek an escalation of the ongoing situation,” a senior aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, told reporters.
READ: Nigerians offered free flights back home from South Africa
