No fewer than 258 Nigerians yesterday touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, from South Africa.

The returnees, comprising males, females and minors, were brought back to the country aboard Air Peace’s chartered flight.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777, touched down at the airport around 10:30 a.m.

The returnees were welcomed into the country by the Director General of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and other officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The returnees left South Africa following the spate of violence, which had engulfed the country in the last few months.

Some South Africans launched violent attacks against foreigners, accusing them of taking over their jobs.

On arrival in Nigeria, the returnees underwent some card registration, immigration processes and other checks.

Each returnee will receive free N50,000 airtime from MTN and N100,000 from the Federal Government, alongside other offers from state governments and other non-governmental organisations.

MEANWHILE, ‎South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, in a statement issued yesterday, disclosed that the first repatriation flight departed on June 11 with 268 Nigerians, while a second flight transporting the remaining individuals had been scheduled for June 15.
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‎According to the department, all those processed for repatriation were issued Emergency Travel Documents by the Nigerian High Commission, which facilitated their departure from South Africa and return to Nigeria.
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‎The department said the repatriations were carried out in accordance with South Africa’s Immigration Act, adding that all affected individuals had been declared undesirable persons and would be barred from re-entering the country for a period of five years.
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It also acknowledged the cooperation of the Nigerian High Commission throughout the documentation and repatriation exercise.
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‎Commenting on the operation, South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, said the government remained committed to enforcing immigration laws and strengthening border management.
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The minister also linked the government’s immigration enforcement efforts to ongoing reforms aimed at modernising identity and border management systems. He cited the expansion of the Electronic Travel Authorisation programme, the replacement of the Green ID Book with Smart ID cards, and the planned introduction of a Digital Identity system as measures designed to improve the country’s ability to monitor and enforce immigration regulations.

‎Schreiber urged members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their hands, stressing that immigration enforcement should be conducted through lawful processes and established institutions.

BUT ‎Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Temitope Ajayi, challenged claims that the 258 Nigerians repatriated from South Africa were undocumented migrants, insisting that many of them became caught in administrative delays within the South African immigration system.
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Speaking during the formal handover of the returnees to Nigerian authorities yesterday at the airport, Ajayi described reports portraying all the evacuees as undocumented as “false and misleading,” arguing that several of the returnees had long-standing applications for permit renewals that remained unprocessed by South African authorities.

NIGERIANS in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) welcomed returnees, stating that the return was on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who approved and fully funded the Air Peace evacuation flight.

Speaking at the reception, the Chairman/CEO of NIDCOM commended President Tinubu’s swift intervention and the collaborative efforts of all agencies.

The NIDCOM chairman further announced that Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State had approved N1,000,000 for each Imo State indigene among the returnees; MTN Nigeria donated N100,000 per returnee, to be transferred to their accounts, while NIMC would fast-track the issuance of National Identity Numbers (NIN) to all evacuees.
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