ANOTHER batch of 105 Nigerians has returned home from South Africa amid concerns over xenophobic attacks and growing tensions affecting migrants in the country.
News Point Nigeria reports that the latest batch, comprising 55 adults, 45 children and five infants, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos late Friday night.
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The returnees were brought back as part of a humanitarian intervention by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), which has undertaken to assist stranded Nigerians seeking to return home from South Africa.
Their arrival came after 100 Nigerians were repatriated from South Africa on Thursday, September 24, under the same intervention by the church.
The RCCG had earlier pledged to sponsor the return of 500 Nigerians stranded in South Africa, meaning that about 295 more returnees are expected to be brought back in subsequent batches, subject to the completion of the required profiling and documentation.
The latest arrivals came two days after the September 30 deadline issued by anti-migrant groups in South Africa, directing undocumented migrants to leave the country.
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The development has heightened concerns among Nigerians and other foreign nationals living in South Africa, particularly those without valid documentation, amid fears over possible attacks and forced displacement.
Speaking on the intervention, Pastor Belemina Obunge, Chairman of the RCCG Task Force overseeing the repatriation exercise and Special Assistant to the General Overseer on Special Duties, said the initiative was a humanitarian contribution to the Federal Government’s efforts to bring stranded Nigerians back home.
Obunge said the exercise was aimed at providing assistance to Nigerians who had found themselves stranded in South Africa and needed support to return to Nigeria.
The latest batch brings the number of Nigerians returned under the current RCCG-supported intervention to 205, while the church is expected to continue the exercise in subsequent batches once the necessary profiling and documentation are completed.
Some of the returnees also expressed joy and relief at being back on Nigerian soil after their experiences in South Africa.
For many of them, the return marked an end to the uncertainty surrounding their stay in the country amid concerns over xenophobic attacks, immigration status and the September 30 deadline issued by anti-migrant groups.
