Abuja begins documenting businesses and property abandoned by citizens fleeing nationwide protests….reports Africa Daily News Desk
Nigeria will seek compensation from South Africa for its citizens who abandoned businesses and property while fleeing recent anti-migrant protests, with the issue expected to be taken up through diplomatic channels between the two countries.
According to the BBC, Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said the matter would be discussed between Abuja and Pretoria “at the highest levels”. He added that all claims submitted by affected Nigerians would be verified before any formal compensation request is made.
“We have not severed ties with South Africa. We are still engaging them at the highest level and will sort those details using our usual diplomatic channels,” Ebienfa told the BBC.
Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, said authorities had begun documenting businesses, vehicles and other movable and immovable property left behind by Nigerians forced to leave the country.
The BBC reported that more than 600 Nigerians have already been repatriated in recent weeks, while hundreds more remain in South Africa awaiting evacuation. South African authorities have maintained that those repatriated were living in the country illegally, a claim disputed by the Nigerian government.
Among those preparing to return home is 32-year-old trader Oghodero Erejor Wilson, who told the BBC he had lived in South Africa for nearly a decade before abandoning his clothing business and home in Centurion, Gauteng province, fearing for his safety.
“I am losing everything because of fear. I left everything in my house, including clothes,” Wilson said.
Scheduled to fly back to Nigeria on Friday, Wilson estimated that merchandise worth more than 16,000 rand (about $975) remained in his shop. Although his residency documents expired in 2021 and could not be renewed, he said he was not optimistic about receiving compensation.
“If the South African government can compensate it, it will be nice, but I know they won’t,” he said.
The move comes after weeks of anti-migrant protests across South Africa. According to the BBC, around 25,000 foreign nationals from across Africa have left the country following demonstrations demanding tougher action against undocumented migration. South African police have arrested about 900 people, mostly for immigration-related offences and looting. The BBC said it had sought comment from the South African government on Nigeria’s compensation demand but had not received a response.
