July 06, (THEWILL) — South Africa and Nigeria seem poised for a showdown over the treatment meted out to returnees fleeing xenophobic attacks.
The diplomatic row between both countries boiled over at the weekend when the South African Government rejected Nigeria’s plan to seek compensation for businesses and other assets abandoned by Nigerians evacuated during the recent wave of anti-migrant unrest, insisting that no compensation would be paid for properties acquired through illegal means.
With the expiration of the June 30, 2026 deadline for the evacuation, stranded Nigerians in the South African countries have armed themselves to confront the attackers.
However, the South African position follows the Federal Government’s announcement that it had begun documenting businesses, vehicles and other movable and immovable assets left behind by Nigerians forced to flee the country amid fears of xenophobic attacks, with a view to pursuing compensation through diplomatic channels. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, stated on Saturday that her government would not compensate anyone for assets acquired through illegal means.
“I am not stammering. Any form of property obtained illegally, we will not compensate for it”, the minister wrote on her verified X account, in what appeared to be a direct response to Nigeria’s planned compensation request.
Earlier at a press briefing shortly after the third batch of Nigerian returnees departed the country aboard Air Peace flight, Ntshavheni said the South African market was available for Nigerians fleeing the country to dispose of their property.
“If you own a property in South Africa, those who leave their properties, if they are properly legally registered in the country, can dispose of the properties in the property market in South Africa, whether it’s movable or immovable property,” she said, adding that, “If you own a property in South Africa, it’s registered. If it’s a house, it’s registered with the Deeds Register. If you own a car, it’s registered in the NATIS system. If you own a business, it’s registered with the CIPC.”
The minister also ruled out compensation for structures in informal settlements, saying such structures are illegal under South African law.
“Informal squatter camps and settlements are never properties because they are illegal in the country. So you are already violating our law if you tell us about a shack in an informal settlement. So, no compensation will come from the government.” Her view, however, sharply contrasted with that of Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Alexander Ajayi, who disclosed that Nigerian officials had begun documenting businesses, vehicles, residential properties and other investments abandoned by returnees.
According to Ajayi, the exercise is intended to support Nigeria’s engagement with the South African Government over compensation for losses incurred by affected citizens.
He stressed that the Federal Government’s concern extends beyond evacuating Nigerians, noting that many victims had spent years building legitimate businesses and acquiring valuable assets before being forced to flee.
Ajayi also challenged suggestions that the majority of Nigerians affected by the crisis were undocumented migrants.
He explained that many Nigerians entered South Africa legally but became caught in prolonged administrative delays involving the renewal of visas and other immigration documents by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs.
“In terms of the businesses, just three days ago, myself and the South African deputy”, Ajayi said on national television in Nigeria, adding that “I took up the discussion with her, and we have agreed that we are going to ask our people who are returning to begin to document what they are leaving behind.”
He said returnees had also been instructed to accurately record the locations and details of abandoned assets before departing South Africa to support Nigeria’s engagement with the South African government.
“I have asked them before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties. We are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people.”
Similarly, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, said discussions on the compensation issue would be held “at the highest levels” between both governments.
The ministry has also disputed claims by South African authorities that many Nigerians who returned under the evacuation programme were residing illegally in the country.
For many returnees, the hurried departure meant leaving behind businesses, homes and years of investment.
Her remarks came days after Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed that the Federal Government would engage South African authorities over losses suffered by Nigerians who abandoned businesses, homes, vehicles and other investments while escaping the renewed anti-migrant tensions.
The compensation issue has emerged as the latest flashpoint between Africa’s two largest economies following weeks of anti-immigrant demonstrations across several South African cities.
The protests, organised by anti-immigration groups including March for March, demanded the removal of undocumented foreign nationals and culminated in a June 30 ultimatum for migrants without valid documentation to leave the country.
The demonstrations sparked widespread fear among migrant communities, prompting thousands of foreign nationals to seek refuge in temporary camps or register for voluntary evacuation to their home countries. Nigeria was among several African countries, including Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, that launched emergency repatriation programmes to bring home citizens affected by the unrest.
Since the evacuation exercise began, hundreds of Nigerians have returned home aboard special Air Peace humanitarian flights coordinated by the Federal Government.
Despite the end of the June 30 deadline, President Bola Tinubu has directed that the evacuation programme should continue until all Nigerians who voluntarily registered for repatriation have been safely returned. One Nigerian trader, who had lived in South Africa for nearly a decade, lamented that he had abandoned both his business and residence because he feared for his safety amid the escalating anti-migrant protests.
Air Peace, on Friday, evacuated another 268 Nigerians from South Africa, as the Federal Government expanded its emergency repatriation programme following renewed anti-migrant violence.
The latest evacuation flight departed O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 5:36 a.m., and arrived safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, conveying 268 Nigerian returnees, alongside two government officials and the flight crew.
The successful operation marks another phase of Nigeria’s ongoing voluntary repatriation exercise launched in response to escalating anti-migrant protests across South Africa, where thousands of demonstrators have demanded the removal of undocumented foreign nationals, triggering fears of renewed xenophobic attacks.
Announcing the latest evacuation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said President Bola Tinubu had directed that the operation should continue until every Nigerian who voluntarily registered for evacuation is brought home safely, despite the expiration of the June 30 ultimatum.
She explained that the latest flight followed three earlier evacuation operations that had already brought nearly 600 Nigerians back home before the June 30 deadline.
According to the minister, the evacuation exercise remains open to all Nigerians who voluntarily indicated interest in returning and have completed the necessary screening and documentation processes.
“The evacuations remain ongoing. The Federal Government is committed to bringing home safely our nationals who voluntarily registered to be evacuated and have been duly screened and cleared”, she said.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed that protecting Nigerians overseas remains a central responsibility of the Tinubu administration, describing the safety and welfare of citizens abroad as “a central pillar of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
She added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue working through Nigeria’s diplomatic missions to provide consular assistance and ensure that no willing Nigerian is left behind.
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