Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that more than 1,000 Nigerians have registered for a voluntary repatriation program following a spate of attacks targeting migrants in South Africa.
Screening is currently underway by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and South African immigration authorities to determine who is eligible for the program.
South African authorities have agreed to waive penalties for visa violations such as overstaying. However, individuals facing criminal charges will not be eligible to leave the country.
“The total figure has not yet been released,” said Kimibi Abianfa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s foreign ministry. “We’re expecting over a thousand people.”
Why are African migrants fleeing South Africa?
South Africa has seen a new surge of protests against undocumented migrants this year. Some of those protests have turned violent.
Victims have described aggressive mobs going from house to house demanding African immigrants to leave the country.
Protesters accused African immigrants of causing crime and taking away jobs – claims exacerbated by high unemployment, poverty and ineffective policing. analysts and Rights groups argue it is a scapegoat.
One group has also issued an ultimatum to expel undocumented immigrants by June 30, raising fears of further violence.
In one incident in May, five Ethiopian immigrants were reportedly murdered in Johannesburg. In June, Mozambique said five of its citizens were killed amid anti-immigrant violence in the Western Cape.
South African authorities have condemned the violence and promised to crack down on “xenophobic acts”.
African countries take action to protect civilians
Ghana repatriated about 300 people on a flight to Accra last month.
Hundreds more Ghanaians are set to follow suit.
Abianfa said Ethiopia is also preparing to repatriate its citizens.
Other countries, including Kenya, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, have also urged their citizens to exercise caution in South Africa.
According to the statistics agency, South Africa is home to more than 3 million foreigners, accounting for about 5.1% of the total population. More than 63% are from countries in the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.
The country has grappled with waves of xenophobic violence, most significantly in May 2008, when at least 62 people were killed, more than 670 injured and more than 100,000 displaced in violence that broke out in the Alexandra township near Johannesburg before spreading across the country.
Many of the victims were immigrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Somalia.
Edited by: Rana Taha