The fourth batch of 268 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived in Lagos amid emotional scenes, pushing the total number of repatriated citizens past 800, as returnees recounted losing homes and businesses to escape anti-migrant violence.
Heavy rain couldn’t dampen the emotion at Lagos airport yesterday, as 268 more Nigerians evacuated from South Africa touched down aboard an Air Peace Boeing 777, met with applause, cheers and tears.
Saturday Telegraph reported that the flight came three days after a June 30 deadline issued by anti-migrant groups in South Africa expired, following weeks of rising tension in Johannesburg. Among the returnees was Tunde, a 34-year-old electronics dealer who spent seven years building a business in Johannesburg. Carrying just a duffel bag, he said, “I left everything. But I have my life. That is what matters.”
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working under Minister Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu and President Bola Tinubu, received returnees with profiling sheets, stipends and medical teams. This fourth evacuation batch pushed the total number of repatriated citizens past 800.
Returnees passed through four stages at the airport: health and biometric screening by NCDC teams, Ministry of Foreign Affairs documentation, distribution of emergency reintegration stipends, and finally a reunion zone for family members and transportation.
Amara, a mother travelling with her two-year-old daughter born in Gauteng, said, “We don’t know what tomorrow looks like. But tonight, we sleep without looking over our shoulders.”
Sandy Oris, who spent 14 years running a spare parts business in Pretoria, described fleeing into bushes behind an industrial estate when Operation Dudula and “March and March” groups struck his neighbourhood on June 30. “For 14 years, I built a life, a home, a business. And I left with two boxes,” he said. “The police told us frankly they couldn’t guarantee our safety.”
Buses waited outside the terminal to transport returnees to transit camps or family reunions across Lagos.
NEWS NOW:
