Nigeria is conducting a final government-sponsored evacuation flight from South Africa on July 10, its foreign ministry announced, after two Nigerian nationals were killed in late June during a wave of anti-migrant protests. Uganda has separately repatriated 424 of its citizens, while Ghana and Malawi have also moved to bring nationals home. According to Nigerian officials, more than 700 Nigerians have already been evacuated, and the total number of foreign nationals repatriated by their home countries in recent weeks exceeds 25,000.

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, stated that there are “no signs that the situation is improving” and urged citizens who feel unsafe to register for the remaining flights. Abuja has demanded that South African authorities urgently investigate the killings of Emeka Charles Iroegbu, who died in police custody in Pretoria, and Musa Yunana Joe, shot outside his shop in eMalahleni. The Nigerian government also said it would seek compensation for abandoned properties and is documenting assets left behind. South Africa’s cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni rejected any compensation, telling a media briefing that Nigerians could sell registered properties on the open market, and added that authorities would be interested in locating “drug dens of Nigerians.” Nigeria’s foreign ministry condemned the remark as “hate speech” and said it was placing Pretoria “on notice,” warning that all options remain on the table.

Anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa has been driven by groups including Operation Dudula and March on March, which gave undocumented foreigners a June 30 deadline to leave. Protesters blame migrants for high unemployment and strained public services. President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that many communities feel foreign-run shops are squeezing out local enterprises, and said such concerns “must not be dismissed.” Analysts at the University of the Witwatersrand note that over 70 percent of South Africans believe immigrants are responsible for joblessness, but researchers attribute the unrest to deeper structural factors. According to political analyst Thato Senabe, the failure to democratise the economy after apartheid has concentrated wealth in few hands, creating a perception that migrants serve as cheap labour for established interests. Sociologist Madalitso Phiri, also at Wits, links the rise of populist anti-migrant movements to a global disillusionment with liberal economic promises and the absence of clear ideological alternatives.

Viewed from Abuja, the crisis has revived older debates about South African exceptionalism and the legacy of xenophobic violence that has periodically targeted African migrants. Nigerian commentators have raised the question of whether to retaliate against South African business interests in Nigeria, though no official action has been announced. The Ugandan government, which lost three nationals in the unrest, has framed its evacuation as a sovereign duty, with acting foreign minister Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo telling returnees that “the greener pasture is now here in Uganda.” The final Nigerian evacuation flight is scheduled to arrive in South Africa on July 10, after which the government has warned that those who remain will have to weigh the risks on their own. Diplomatic channels remain open, but no joint investigation has been announced, and the broader regional implications for African integration remain unresolved.