Nigeria delays evacuation flights from South Africa to Wednesday

Nigeria has postponed its airlift of citizens from South Africa until Wednesday, the Federal Government said, as authorities complete preparations to repatriate nationals amid unrest affecting foreign residents.

Evacuation moved from Monday to Wednesday

The evacuation operation, which was initially expected to take place on Monday, has been rescheduled because of logistical issues, the foreign ministry said. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved five evacuation flights, and the first flight is expected to carry over 270 passengers.

Screening and numbers

Officials have screened and cleared more than 500 people who wished to leave South Africa. The government is planning to repatriate more than 1,000 nationals.

Speaking to TVC News Nigeria, foreign ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said the flight was delayed by “unforeseen logistical circumstances.” He described earlier plans to fly on Monday evening as contingent on “necessary permit clearances and other administrative concerns for the aircraft that will be deployed by Airpeace.”

“It was communicated that the first flight will leave on Monday evening if we are able to secure the necessary permit clearances and other administrative concerns for the aircraft that will be deployed by Airpeace. But I got information yesterday evening that we won’t be able to airlift today,”

On the expected total, Ebienfa told AFP:

“Total figure not out yet,”

and added:

“We are expecting over 1,000 persons.”

Arrangements for migrants with immigration issues

Nigeria’s High Commission in Pretoria said it had “negotiated waivers with host authorities” so that those with “immigration-related offences” would be allowed to leave on repatriation flights rather than be detained.

Wider context

The airlift follows renewed tensions and xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa. The country has an unemployment rate of over 30% and has experienced repeated episodes of anti-immigrant unrest in recent weeks.

Ghana recently repatriated hundreds of its citizens from South Africa. According to the statistics agency cited in the report, more than three million foreigners live in South Africa, accounting for 5.1% of the population, and more than 63% of them come from countries in the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.

Next steps

The first of the approved evacuation flights is now scheduled for Wednesday as officials continue to finalise permit clearances and administrative arrangements ahead of the airlift.