Repatriated Nigerians From South Africa Arrive Lagos

The aircraft conveying Nigerians repatriated from South Africa amid ongoing hostilities against black migrants has arrived in Lagos.

Naija News reports that the plane touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The returnees make up the fourth batch to arrive in Nigeria, although the flight is the Federal Government’s official third repatriation flight.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, in a statement released on Thursday, said the first group arrived on June 11 via Air Peace.

He explained that logistical delays affected the second flight, leading to the evacuation of 66 Nigerians on June 25, which was carried out by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ValueJet, Kunle Soname.

Ebienfa added that the ministry’s second official batch arrived on June 30 with 269 returnees, bringing the earlier number of returnees to 593.

The ministry said three additional flights would be operated in the coming days to bring back Nigerians who voluntarily registered, and had been screened and cleared.

Ebienfa said that over 1,000 Nigerians had expressed interest in returning, while the expected number of returning citizens remained at 700.

The ministry also dismissed reports of extortion in the evacuation process. Ebienfa said all evacuation flights were fully paid for by the Federal Government and came at no cost to the returnees.