FG Evacuates 258 Nigerians from South Africa, Signs Deal to Transfer 98 Inmates from Ethiopia

The Federal Government has intensified its “citizen diplomacy” policy with two major actions for Nigerians abroad: airlifting 258 citizens from South Africa amid xenophobic attacks, and signing a prisoner transfer agreement with Ethiopia to bring 98 inmates home. 

According to Special Assistant on Communication and New Media to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Magnus Eze, both moves show President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment that “no Nigerian will be left behind.”

Eze quoted the minister to have disclosed that about 1,000 Nigerians have registered for evacuation from South Africa before the June 30 deadline. The first batch of 258 evacuees was airlifted and received at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Thursday, June 11, 2026, by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.

Responding to questions on Nigerians in South Africa, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the Renewed Hope Administration directed that citizens exposed to danger who voluntarily want to return home must leave before the deadline.

She condemned xenophobic attacks by vigilante groups who have been looting shops, breaking into homes, and subjecting migrants to intimidation. “This xenophobic action is causing reputational damage,” she said.

“The late Madiba, Nelson Mandela worked so hard to project South Africa as the bastion of Pan-Africanism. And in one fell swoop, these anti-migrant vigilante groups have destroyed what this man sacrificed 28 years in prison for.”

Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted the human toll: some Nigerians are married to South Africans with children who know no other home, yet they are being asked to leave. She noted South Africa discarded an October 2025 MoU with Nigeria on early warning mechanisms, claiming signatories lacked authority. Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique are also evacuating their citizens.

On economic implications, she said over 120 South African companies operate in Nigeria, including MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic, and Protea, without identity checks. “But this is happening to Nigerians in South Africa. So, I think that at some point, we really have to review the options available to us.”

The minister said the executive is engaging South Africa diplomatically, while the National Assembly has a constitutional role if talks fail. She stressed Nigeria is law-abiding, so any retaliatory measures must follow due legislative process.

Prisoner transfer deal with Ethiopia

In a separate development, Odumegwu-Ojukwu announced Nigeria signed a Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement with Ethiopia. The deal allows 98 Nigerians serving jail terms in Kaliti and Aba Samuel maximum security prisons to complete their sentences at home.

She said efforts started years ago after inmates complained of precarious living conditions, health challenges, poor feeding, denial of visitation rights, limited legal services, and language barriers. Four Nigerians died while the agreement was being finalized.

The minister dismissed a viral list claiming 136 Nigerians were in Ethiopian prisons as “fake” and “wild tangent.” “The list trending online is a made-up list… Those that are subject of this agreement are 98 inmates,” she stated. She also debunked claims that the inmates are from one region: “A lot of them are from the Southeast. There are also those from the Southwest, from the South-South. Crime has no ethnicity.”

Odumegwu-Ojukwu allayed fears of automatic freedom on return. One provision of the MoU bars Nigeria from granting pardon or amnesty to any transferred person without Ethiopia’s consent. “The government is determined to bring the inmates home to serve their sentences with dignity without exposing them to inhuman conditions,” she said.

Both actions, she said, reflect the citizen diplomacy policy that prioritizes Nigerians in the diaspora. She disclosed efforts are ongoing to intervene for other Nigerians imperiled worldwide.