Nigeria called on South Africa on Monday to take stronger action against attacks on African migrants, warning that the violence is damaging relations between the two countries.
The appeal came during talks in Abuja between Nigerian officials and a South African delegation led by International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye said President Bola Tinubu had ordered the meeting to address what he described as persistent “Afrophobic attacks” on Nigerians and other migrants.
Enikanolaiye noted that vigilantes had attacked foreign nationals and looted their shops in recent months, killing at least four people. He said 1,490 Nigerians had been evacuated since the latest violence and that 98 Nigerians had died in such attacks since 2022. He added that police had sometimes failed to intervene, raising questions of state complicity.
Lamola stated that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government opposed xenophobia, racism and discrimination. Enikanolaiye said Nigeria accepted that criminals among its citizens must face justice but insisted they should be arrested and prosecuted rather than subjected to mob violence.
