Xenophobia: S/Africa returnees recount ordeals

***Ask FG to prioritise rehabilitation, reintegration

***As 315 Nigerians return today in final evacuation

By Efe Onodjae, Cynthia Alo & Favour Ulebor

Nigerians, who recently returned from South Africa on account of the xenophobic attacks in the Rainbow country, have recounted ordeals, appealing to the Federal Government to urgently introduce rehabilitation and reintegration programmes to help them rebuild their lives after allegedly losing homes, businesses and other means of livelihood.

They also alleged betrayal by family members, who they said failed to help invest in properties and businesses in Nigeria while they sojourned in South Africa.

Their tales of woes came as 315 more evacuees return to the country today in final flight aboard Air Peace.

The returnees, who shared their experiences after arriving in Nigeria, said many came back with little or nothing, following reported xenophobic attacks and growing insecurity that forced them to flee South Africa.

One of the returnees, 49-year-old indigene of Edo State, who lived in South Africa for 11 years before returning to Nigeria, said he was married to a South African and had two children.

While recounting surviving xenophobic attacks on more than one occasion, he said: “That was before the present incident in the country. I was attacked by gun-wielding South Africans. They said their anger stemmed from the fact that we, Nigerians, were always with their women.

“Even my passport was thrown into the bush by some armed South Africans, although I managed to search for and recover it. That was a few years ago. I think the incident happened in 2017. One of the South Africans pointed a revolver at me.

“I cried like a baby when they pointed the gun at me. I knelt down and begged because I was at the point of being killed.

“Now, it is not only people without legal documents, they are saying they don’t want any foreigners. Whether you are legal or not, they don’t want you. To be honest with you, my documents have expired. My passport has expired, and my asylum permit has expired because I couldn’t go out to renew them for fear of being attacked.”

Speaking after arriving in Nigeria, another returnee, who preferred anonymity, described life in South Africa as increasingly hostile, saying many foreigners lived in constant fear of attacks, harassment and discrimination.

According to the returnee, the situation worsened in recent weeks, forcing many families to abandon businesses, homes and years of hard work built in South Africa.

Tetrayal by families

One of the most disturbing accounts came from another returnee who alleged that members of his family lured him to an Islamic cleric’s residence after he demanded his properties, only to be forced into a room where several other people had been confined under poor living conditions.

In a viral TikTok post, another returnee, identified by the handle @Adeyinka Ayaba Ibarapa, said she also lost her properties after returning home.

“When I came back from South Africa and asked my blood sister about my property, she kept giving excuses. After three months, she called me around 2 a.m. and said they would take me to where my property was. I simply stopped asking,” she wrote.

She was reacting to another returnee’s video in which the man alleged that after spending 23 years working in South Africa, his relatives deceived him into visiting an Alfa for prayers before locking him inside a room.

He said: “I had just arrived in Nigeria and asked my family about my properties. They said the property was still under development. Later, they said they wanted to take me somewhere for prayers. I followed them because they are my family.

‘’When we got there, they suddenly pushed me into a room. I met people who had been there for up to one year under terrible conditions.”

How I narrowly escaped death

Also speaking during an interview with News Central Television, another returnee, Chikezie Igwe, said he narrowly escaped death during the attacks.

“My message to Nigerians still in South Africa is simple: leave while you can. When I was escaping, I called one of my friends and begged him to come with me to the Nigerian Consulate because they had already burnt my car. He refused. On Monday, while I was at the Nigerian High Commission, I received a call that he had been killed,” he said.

Mrs. Ilugbadebo Oyebola, who returned to Nigeria with her family after spending 11 years in South Africa, described the period as one of the most traumatic experiences of her life.

“I spent 11 years in South Africa without a residence permit. There were no stable jobs, no access to proper healthcare and constant discrimination because we were foreigners,” she said.

Recalling one of her most painful experiences, Oyebola said she was ordered to clean a hospital floor immediately after giving birth because she was not a South African.

“I had just delivered my baby and was bleeding when a nurse realised I wasn’t a South African. She told me to clean the hospital floor. That experience left me traumatised. My children also faced discrimination in school and were sometimes denied awards simply because they were foreigners,” she said.

Despite the hardship, she expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for facilitating their return.

Final evacuation flight from S-Africa to bring back 315 Nigerians today

Meanwhile, no fewer than 315 more Nigerians would arrive Lagos today in the last lap of evuation of those stranded in South Africa.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, noted that the fifth and final evacuation flight was scheduled to depart Johannesburg at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, and arrive the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 6:30 a.m.

The Air Peace-operated flight marks the conclusion of the federal government’s evacuation of Nigerians who indicated interest in returning home, following the recent xenophobic attacks and security concerns in parts of South Africa.

The government had earlier conducted four evacuation flights, bringing home hundreds of Nigerians as part of efforts to ensure the safety and welfare of its citizens abroad.

The ministry reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to protecting Nigerians wherever they might be and appreciated all stakeholders involved in the evacuation.

The post Xenophobia: S/Africa returnees recount ordeals appeared first on Vanguard News.