The Federal Government has announced plans to seek compensation from the South African government for Nigerians who were forced to abandon businesses and other valuable properties following renewed anti-immigrant tensions in the country.
The development came as 269 additional Nigerians arrived in Lagos aboard the third government-coordinated evacuation flight, bringing the total number of returnees evacuated so far to 603.
The evacuation exercise began with 268 Nigerians airlifted by Air Peace on June 11, followed by 66 evacuees transported by ValueJet on June 25, while the latest batch arrived aboard another Air Peace flight.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, said the government had begun compiling records of businesses and properties abandoned by returnees as a basis for discussions with South African authorities on compensation.
Ajayi disclosed that the issue had already been raised with South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance and that returnees had been directed to document all assets left behind.
“I have asked them to accurately document the businesses, cars, movable and immovable properties they are leaving behind. We will systematically follow up on the information and work with the South African government to verify the locations of these properties and present them for possible compensation,” he said.
He stressed that the repatriation exercise would not end with bringing affected Nigerians home, adding that the government was committed to ensuring that years of investment and hard work by its citizens were not lost.
Ajayi also dismissed claims that most Nigerians in South Africa were undocumented, insisting that the majority entered the country legally.
According to him, many migrants became victims of prolonged delays in the processing of immigration documents by South Africa’s Home Office after applying for renewals.
He explained that systemic challenges within the Home Office had created a backlog of applications over the past three to four years, affecting not only Nigerians but other foreign nationals.
“Most of them migrated legally. The delays occurred when they sought to renew their documents, with some applications remaining unprocessed for years. It is therefore inaccurate to describe them as undocumented,” Ajayi said.