The Federal Government has evacuated a total of 1,141 Nigerians from South Africa following the arrival of the fourth repatriation flight at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The latest Air Peace flight landed on Thursday night with 282 returnees on board, bringing the number of Nigerians brought back home since the evacuation exercise commenced on June 11 to 1,141.
The repatriation programme was initiated in response to growing concerns over xenophobic attacks and the safety of Nigerians residing in South Africa, with more than 1,000 citizens reportedly indicating interest in returning home.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had earlier urged Nigerians still stranded in South Africa to take advantage of the ongoing evacuation exercise and return to the country.
Her appeal came amid reports that two more Nigerians had died in South Africa, raising the official death toll linked to the recent wave of xenophobic violence to four.
Some of the returnees, however, have alleged that the actual number of fatalities could be higher than officially reported.
Despite an unofficial June 30 deadline reportedly issued by some South African civil society groups for undocumented migrants to leave the country, evacuation operations have continued beyond that date.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu assured affected Nigerians that the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring that every citizen who registered for evacuation would be given the opportunity to return home safely.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed that a fifth and final evacuation flight is scheduled to arrive in Nigeria next week.
According to him, the flight will conclude the government’s current repatriation exercise from South Africa.
The evacuation programme forms part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to protect Nigerian citizens abroad and provide assistance to those affected by violence, insecurity and other humanitarian challenges in their countries of residence.