The Federal Government has successfully evacuated 258 stranded Nigerians, including children, from South Africa as part of its emergency evacuation programme for distressed citizens abroad.
The returnees arrived in Lagos on Thursday aboard an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, marking the first batch under the government’s voluntary repatriation initiative.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Service Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, the evacuees landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, at about 10:23 a.m., accompanied by four officials from the Nigerian Mission in South Africa.
Upon arrival, officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service carried out immigration clearance procedures before handing over the returnees to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NCFRMI, for further documentation and processing.
The reception of the returnees was led by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Bernard Doro, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.
Representatives of key government agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the NCFRMI, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, and other relevant stakeholders, were also present.
Akinlabi said the smooth and orderly handling of the evacuation and clearance process reflects the commitment of the Nigeria Immigration Service to effective migration management and the welfare of Nigerian citizens.
He noted that the exercise aligns with the Federal Government’s citizen diplomacy policy and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, aimed at protecting Nigerians wherever they may be and ensuring dignified support for citizens in distress abroad.
