A total of 271 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa have arrived in Lagos as part of the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme
The returnees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday aboard an Air Peace flight, which touched down shortly before 11 a.m. after departing Johannesburg around 5 a.m. local time.
They were received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
The evacuation forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to assist Nigerians who have chosen to return home amid growing anti-immigration sentiment in South Africa.
The exercise comes ahead of the June 30 deadline reportedly issued by vigilante groups and other organisations demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country.
Earlier this month, President Bola Tinubu approved the voluntary evacuation initiative for Nigerians wishing to return from South Africa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that five Air Peace evacuation flights had been approved after more than 500 Nigerians registered for the programme.
With the arrival of the latest batch, a total of 599 Nigerians have now been evacuated. Before Tuesday’s flight, 328 citizens had already returned in two previous batches—262 on June 11 and another 66 on June 25.
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