The Federal Government has received another batch of 269 Nigerians evacuated from the Republic of South Africa following xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.
The returnees arrived aboard an Air Peace evacuation flight from Johannesburg, which landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 10:48 a.m. on Tuesday.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa.
Ebienfa said the latest batch brings to 335 the number of Nigerians evacuated since June 24, when 66 others returned aboard a South African Airways flight facilitated by a Nigerian philanthropist.
He explained that the 269 evacuees, who were accompanied by officials of the Nigerian Mission in South Africa, were received at the airport by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by the Director of the African Affairs Department, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe.
According to the statement, Ali-Gombe conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s goodwill message to the returnees and reassured them of the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting the lives and welfare of Nigerians living abroad.
He also reiterated that the evacuation exercise remained ongoing, especially as South Africa’s June 30 deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country takes effect.
The first batch of 258 Nigerians was evacuated on June 11, bringing the total number of returnees to 593 as of June 30.
Ebienfa said additional evacuation flights were expected in the coming days to bring home more Nigerians who had been screened and cleared for voluntary repatriation.
He added that the Federal Government would continue to engage the South African authorities through diplomatic channels to ensure the safety and protection of Nigerians residing in the country.
