Tension Rises As Nigeria, South Africa Meet Over Xenophobic Violence

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, on Monday held a closed-door meeting in Abuja with South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation over the recent wave of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.

The South African minister arrived in Nigeria as head of a special presidential delegation to discuss the attacks and other issues affecting bilateral relations between both countries.

During the meeting, the South African delegation defended its government’s enforcement of immigration laws, insisting that authorities have a duty to tackle criminal activities allegedly involving both citizens and foreign nationals.

The delegation cited offences such as drug trafficking and other alleged crimes linked to some immigrants as part of the reasons for intensified enforcement.

In response, the Nigerian government condemned the attacks on Nigerians and other foreign nationals, describing the violence as unacceptable.

Enikanolaiye expressed concern over what he described as a recurring pattern of Afrophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other Africans residing in South Africa.

He stressed that while every country has the right to enforce its immigration and criminal laws, such actions should never result in violence against law-abiding foreign nationals.

The minister also reminded the South African delegation of Nigeria’s significant role in supporting the country’s anti-apartheid struggle, noting that the long-standing ties between both nations make the repeated attacks on Nigerians especially troubling.

He called for sincere dialogue between Abuja and Pretoria to address the root causes of the violence and prevent future incidents.

Enikanolaiye disclosed that approximately 98 Nigerians had been killed in previous xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing the figure as evidence of the urgent need for both governments to find lasting solutions.

He reiterated that although South Africa has the sovereign right to enforce its laws, such enforcement must not be used to justify attacks on Nigerians or other African nationals living in the country.