• Miffed by Pretoria’s response considering role in anti-apartheid struggle
• Reschedules evacuation of citizens, rejects illegal migrant claims

The Federal Government, yesterday, signalled that retaliatory measures against South Africa remain a possibility as it condemned the continued harassment, intimidation and looting targeting Nigerians in the country.

It, however, rescheduled the airlifting of the first batch of Nigerians wanting to leave South Africa following the attacks against Blacks in the country, according to a statement yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, expressed Nigeria’s disappointment with the response of South African authorities to the attacks, considering Nigeria’s role in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Speaking with State House correspondents yesterday, Ojukwu dismissed suggestions by some South African officials that many of the affected Nigerians were undocumented migrants.

“Nigeria is not happy because it sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence. Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds and resources to aid South Africa. In (Nigerian) schools, seats were reserved for South African students. My own generation carried placards and demonstrated outside South African assets.

“Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria was a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated. They are not asking other migrants to leave; they are only asking black migrants to leave,” she said.

Asked whether Nigeria could respond by reviewing the privileges South Africans enjoyed in the country, Ojukwu said reciprocal action had not been ruled out.

“That is a situation we are considering. This is up to our legislature. It is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it is not off the table,” she said.

Regarding the planned repatriation of Nigerians from South Africa, the minister clarified that yesterday’s timeline was intended for completing documentation and other formalities, rather than the commencement of evacuation flights.

“It wasn’t actually supposed to start today. It was just that we were supposed to have rounded off the formalities today,” she stated yesterday. “The repatriation is on course.

The President has reiterated that this aircraft must come to South Africa, and our imperilled citizens will have the opportunity to board and be brought back to their country.”

She disclosed that the number of Nigerians seeking evacuation continued to rise as the security situation deteriorated.

“There are processes that have to be undertaken by South African Homeland Security. We ensure that we screen returning citizens. Once citizens are cleared, they are issued documentation indicating they are free to leave,” he said. “Once this situation started getting worse, the President directed that a crisis response unit be immediately established within our consulate and at the Nigerian mission in Pretoria.”

EBIENFA said the proposed airlift of the first batch of returnees from South Africa, originally scheduled for yesterday, was rescheduled to Wednesday (tomorrow) due to unforeseen logistical considerations.

He explained that President Bola Tinubu approved five evacuation flights to be operated by Nigeria’s private airline, Air Peace.

The first flight, expected to lift about 270 passengers, he pointed out, would depart Johannesburg in the evening of the new date, after all necessary permits and clearances had been secured for the aircraft.

He also confirmed that the Federal Government had extended the screening of its citizens willing to be evacuated from South Africa to Wednesday.

“I received confirmation from our Mission in Pretoria that the screening of Nigerian nationals, who indicated interest in being evacuated back home, has been extended to Wednesday.

”So far, more than 500 persons have been screened and cleared,” Ebienfa said.