Nigeria Pushes South Africa on Migrant Safety; Demands Response to Violence Pattern

Nigeria’s demand for concrete action from Pretoria sits at the center of high-level talks held in Abuja, where officials from both countries met to address what Nigerian authorities describe as a sustained pattern of violence against African migrants, including Nigerian citizens legally resident in South Africa.

President Bola Tinubu ordered the meeting specifically to confront the issue. The South African delegation was headed by Special Envoy and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye presented the numbers plainly: since 2022, at least 98 Nigerians have been killed in xenophobic attacks. He documented a longer historical pattern, pointing to outbreaks of anti-migrant violence stretching back to 1995. In the current wave of unrest, at least 1,490 Nigerians have been evacuated from South Africa.

The violence has taken multiple forms. South African vigilantes have attacked foreign nationals and looted foreign-owned shops repeatedly over recent months, killing at least four people. Last month, anti-immigrant protesters marched through several South African cities demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country. Many South Africans blame immigrants for crime and unemployment, fueling the attacks.

What distinguishes Nigeria’s complaint is not simply the violence itself but the apparent failure of South African authorities to stop it.

Enikanolaiye raised a particularly serious charge: Nigerian authorities have documented cases in which police appeared unwilling to intervene in attacks on foreign nationals. He framed this as raising “issues of complicity if the state authorities are unwilling or not able” to protect migrants from mob violence. The minister also made clear that Nigeria’s concern extends beyond undocumented workers or criminal suspects. Nationals legally living in South Africa have been attacked alongside suspected criminals, he said, suggesting the violence is indiscriminate rather than targeted at lawbreakers.

Nigeria’s position on how perpetrators should be handled reflects a fundamental disagreement with the current climate on the ground. “If there are criminals, the solution is not to kill them,” Enikanolaiye said. “Get them arrested, prosecuted.” Nigeria does not condone criminal activity by its citizens abroad, he added, but due process must replace mob violence.

By contrast, South Africa’s stated position remains one of firm opposition. Lamola said that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government is firmly opposed to xenophobia, racism and discrimination. That statement, however, came against the backdrop of documented incidents in which state security forces appeared unable or unwilling to intervene, according to Nigerian officials.

South Africa’s economy, as Africa’s most industrialised, has drawn migrants from Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Malawi, creating a significant foreign population that has become a lightning rod for local frustrations. The gap between Pretoria’s stated policy and what is actually happening on the ground appears to be precisely what Nigeria is now pressing Lamola’s delegation to close, and whether that pressure translates into measurable action remains the open question.