Nigeria has called on South Africa to take stronger action against xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African migrants, warning that repeated violence is straining relations between the continent’s two largest economies.
The appeal was made on Monday during talks in Abuja between Nigerian officials and a South African delegation led by International Relations Minister and presidential special envoy Ronald Lamola.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, said President Bola Tinubu ordered the meeting in response to what Abuja described as persistent “Afrophobic attacks” against Nigerians and other African nationals living in South Africa.
South African vigilante groups have repeatedly targeted foreign nationals and looted migrant-owned businesses in recent months. Anti-immigrant groups have also organised demonstrations demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country.
At least four people have reportedly been killed in the latest wave of violence, while Nigerian officials said 1,490 citizens had been evacuated from South Africa.
“We have seen a pattern that has become a concern to the Nigerian government,” Enikanolaiye said, pointing to outbreaks of anti-migrant violence dating back to 1995.
He said Nigerian authorities had documented the deaths of at least 98 Nigerians in xenophobic attacks since 2022.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, attracts migrants from across Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Malawi. However, foreigners are frequently blamed for unemployment, crime and pressure on public services.
Enikanolaiye said the violence had not been limited to suspected criminals or undocumented migrants, with legally resident foreign nationals also coming under attack.
He also raised concerns over the conduct of South African security forces, saying Nigerian officials had recorded cases in which police appeared unwilling to intervene.
Such failures, he said, raised “issues of complicity if the state authorities are unwilling or not able” to protect foreign nationals.
Lamola said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government remained firmly opposed to xenophobia, racism and discrimination.
Nigeria said it did not condone criminal activity by its citizens abroad but insisted that anyone suspected of breaking the law must be arrested and prosecuted rather than subjected to mob violence.
“If there are criminals, the solution is not to kill them,” Enikanolaiye said. “Get them arrested, prosecuted.”