The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa has launched an online registration portal for Nigerians seeking voluntary return to their home country, signalling plans for a second repatriation exercise.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a memo issued on Tuesday, the mission said the registration portal would remain open until August 12, adding that completing the process does not automatically guarantee a place on any future repatriation flight.
The development comes weeks after the federal government repatriated 1,490 Nigerians from South Africa in seven batches following xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.
While the Nigerian government funded five of the repatriation flights, two additional batches returned through emergency arrangements.
Speaking with TheCable on Wednesday, Alexander Ajayi, Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, said the mission is compiling data from intending returnees pending commitments from partners willing to sponsor the flights.
“We are now at a crucial stage of mounting a whole of society approach to getting the remnants back home,” Ajayi said.
He explained that the fresh registration exercise was prompted by renewed requests from Nigerians who expressed a desire to return after the previous repatriation programme had concluded.
The renewed effort comes amid continued reports of violence against Nigerians in South Africa.
Following the conclusion of the earlier repatriation exercise, the Nigerian Consulate-General in Johannesburg reported the death of a Nigerian citizen during a police operation in Cape Town, while another Nigerian was shot and seriously injured.
Nigeria has repeatedly condemned the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing the country’s response as inadequate.
The Federal Government, alongside Ghana, has also called for “Afrophobia” to be included on the agenda of the next African Union (AU) summit as concerns over attacks on African migrants continue.
