Why RCCG Is Bringing 500 Nigerians Back From South Africa Finally Revealed

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has commenced the repatriation of at least 500 Nigerians from South Africa, with the first batch of 100 returnees arriving at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday night.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the repatriation exercise is being funded by the church following an appeal from the Nigerian diplomatic mission in South Africa concerning Nigerians who had been profiled and documented for return.

Chairman of the RCCG Task Force for the Reception of Nigerian Returnees from South Africa, Pastor Belemina Obunge, disclosed that the church’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, approved funding for the air transportation of the Nigerians from Johannesburg to Lagos on humanitarian grounds.

Obunge explained that the returnees were Nigerians who had been profiled by the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa in collaboration with the South African Home Affairs authorities.

He stressed that the beneficiaries were not selected based on their membership of the RCCG, noting that Nigerians from different religious backgrounds were included in the repatriation exercise.

The cleric said the church was responding to the humanitarian situation affecting Nigerians who needed assistance to return home, adding that the intervention was intended to provide support regardless of the returnees’ religious affiliations.

Officials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, and other relevant government agencies were at the airport to receive the first batch of returnees.

Following their arrival, the returnees commenced profiling and documentation processes before being transported to their respective state capitals, according to officials involved in the exercise.

Obunge further explained that the RCCG’s responsibility was primarily to fund the air transportation from Johannesburg to Lagos, while government agencies would oversee the reception, profiling and onward movement of the returnees.

He said the church’s task force would also provide encouragement and prayers for the returnees before handing them over to the appropriate government authorities.

The RCCG chairman noted that additional batches would be brought into the country as the repatriation exercise continues. He added that the final number could exceed 500 because children and infants were also included among the Nigerians being transported.

The intervention, he said, followed an appeal from the Nigerian Consulate in South Africa after concerns were raised over Nigerians who had been left stranded and required assistance to return to Nigeria.