No fewer than 15,000 Nigerians willing to come back home, Vanguard can authoritatively report, are still stranded in South Africa on the eve of June 30 deadline issued by anti-immigration groups.
The revelation came as the federal government yesterday said it was evacuating 271 more Nigerians as it ramps up repatriation drive ahead of the deadline.
A stranded Nigerian told Vanguard that some government officials in South Africa were extorting people to pave way for addition of their names to the evacuation list.
“I am tired; the officials here are asking people for money before they will be included in the list of people to be repatriated.
‘’I can no longer wait for Nigeria to come home; I have purchased my own ticket and I will be coming home next week but so many others don’t have money to buy their way home,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the federal government said that evacuation of willing Nigerians would continue beyond June 30.
But spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, denied the allegation, saying nobody was being extorted.
He, however, confirmed that an Air Peace aircraft would depart Nigeria at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 29, 2026, and leave South Africa with the latest batch of evacuees at about 12:00 midnight South African time.
“The return flight is scheduled to depart South Africa at 12:00 midnight and is expected to arrive at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday morning. This will bring home 271 additional Nigerians who have volunteered to return,” Ebienfa said, adding that 700 more would be evacuated, depending on the situation on ground in South Africa.
Corroborating him, Air Peace spokesperson, Mr Efe Osifo-Whiskey, said the airline was set to evacuate 271 Nigerians, but said the flight was yet to leave Nigeria as at 3:50pm yesterday due to inexplicable delays.
“The aircraft has not departed yet. They will let me know when it is time, but I do not know the reason for the delay. We are looking at evacuating 271 people, but let us see what happens when they arrive in Lagos.”
Asked whether the flight was being subsidised, as was the first evacuation flight. I have no idea because I am not part of those discussions,’’ he said.
The latest flight is part of a programme approved by President Bola Tinubu earlier this month to facilitate the voluntary return of Nigerians willing to leave South Africa following planned anti-immigrant protests slated to begin on June 30.
