Hundreds of Nigerians who registered for the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme are stranded in South Africa without shelter, food, or money, the News Agency of Nigeria reports, citing a statement by the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa, NICASA.
The Nigerian citizens were left stranded after delays in scheduled evacuation flights left many unable to return home despite having complied with official directives.
NICASA disclosed this in the statement issued on Friday, with National President Frank Onyekwelu revealing that a worsening humanitarian situation is affecting families who travelled from distant provinces across South Africa after being directed to report for registration and screening.
What NICASA is saying
According to NAN, Onyekwelu said many of the affected Nigerians had exhausted their limited resources after travelling long distances in good faith, believing that arrangements for their departure had already been adequately concluded.
- “Today, numerous families, including women and children, are stranded without shelter, food, transportation or financial means to sustain themselves,” he said.
- “The situation has become increasingly distressing as some of our nationals have been left sleeping in difficult conditions, uncertain of when they will return home. Several have exhausted their limited resources after travelling long distances in good faith, believing that arrangements had been adequately concluded for their departure,” he added.
He alleged that some citizens experienced humiliation, insensitive treatment, and poor communication from certain officials during the registration and screening exercise, arguing that Nigerians who complied with official directives deserved better.
- “Our citizens are not merely statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, students, workers, and entrepreneurs who have found themselves in desperate circumstances. Their cries for help must not go unanswered,” he said.
More insights
NICASA called on the Federal Government to intervene urgently, expedite the completion of the repatriation programme, deploy emergency resources, and establish a humanitarian support mechanism for those still stranded pending their departure.
- The association said it understands the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa aims to improve communication, provide temporary welfare support, and engage constructively with community leadership structures to address the immediate needs of affected citizens.
- Onyekwelu reiterated NICASA’s commitment to supporting the government and relevant stakeholders in ensuring the successful completion of the voluntary repatriation programme, stressing that the suffering of stranded Nigerians required urgent and decisive action.
What you should know
The plight of the stranded Nigerians comes in the wake of an ongoing wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa that has continued unabated since April 2026, prompting Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi to evacuate hundreds of their citizens from the country.
Earlier this month, Nairametrics reported that Nigeria has begun evacuating its citizens from South Africa, as the first group of 262 Nigerians departed Johannesburg for Lagos amid renewed xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) announced the development in a statement posted on its official X account on Thursday, June 11.
