The uptick in the xenophobic violence against Nigerians and other black Africans in South Africa is deeply troubling. So troubling that Nigerians are particularly now being targeted for selective attacks.
The sheer bestiality being displayed by the South African mobs in the latest wave of xenophobic attacks and anti-foreigner protests, which began between April 27 and 29, beggars belief.
The renewed wave of the xenophobic attacks, which have already claimed the lives of two Nigerians, escalated into violence early this month, spreading like wildfire in places such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.
The two Nigerians, who died in separate incidents in yet inchoate circumstances, were identified by the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg as Ekpenyong Andrew and Amaramiro Emmanuel. The killings, linked to South African security personnel and heightened xenophobic tensions, have led the Nigerian government to begin voluntary evacuation arrangements for its citizens.
Amaramiro, according to the Nigerian Union of South Africa (NUSA), allegedly died from injuries sustained after an assault by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and police personnel during a home raid on April 20, 2026. Andrew was reportedly apprehended a day earlier, precisely April 19, 2026, by the officials of the Tshwane Metro Police in Pretoria following an altercation. His body was discovered later at the Pretoria Central Mortuary!
To clear the fog surrounding their violent death, the Federal Government of Nigeria has already demanded thorough and impartial investigations into their killing. It also requested the South African government to provide autopsy reports on their death as well as other relevant details.
The Federal Government routed this demand through the South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lesoli Machele, who was summoned over the matter last Monday in Abuja. The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Ahmed, relayed the message to the South Africa’s envoy at a meeting between the duo.
The resurgence of xenophobic violence against Nigeria particularly presents a tragic irony, while the death of the two Nigerians in circumstances linked to South African security personnel reeks of perfidy, suggestive of possible official complicity in the hate malady in security circles.
It smacks of the highest height of ingratitude for South Africans to vent their misplaced spleen on Nigerians and visit the level of savagery being reported on our people each time the senseless anti-immigrant attacks resurge, in view of the sacrifices and commitments of Nigeria to the apartheid struggle.
Nigeria, indeed, took the lead in the long-drawn battle to end the white-to-black oppressive regime, spending fortunes and spearheading diplomatic onslaughts to achieve the freedom South Africans are enjoying today. Notable freedom fighters of the era such as Thabo Mbeki and others also at some point lived in Nigeria at the behest and expense of the nation.
But what did we get in return? Inveterate hostility, gratuitous incivility, impulsive attacks and outright killings! Available records indicate that the first major post-apartheid anti-foreigner violence began around 1994–1995, especially in townships around Johannesburg such as Alexandra.
There were attacks and forced expulsions of migrants from countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in Alexandra township around that time shortly after the collapse of apartheid regime.
In 1998, a violent uprising resurged, resulting in the killing of some foreigners after anti-immigrant rallies. The first nationwide xenophobic crisis, however, occurred in May, 2008 during which at least 62 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced across Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and other areas.
In 2015, a major outbreak occurred in Durban and Johannesburg, targeting African migrants, including Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Ethiopians, Mozambicans, Somalis and others. A report released by the House of Representatives in 2017 revealed that about 116 Nigerians were killed in South Africa over a preceding two-year period. In 2019, there were fresh waves of attacks and looting of targeted foreign-owned businesses, which again affected Nigerians heavily.
The latest wave of xenophobic violence against Nigerians, Ghanaians and other African immigrants in South Africa are shaped by violent anti-migrant protests, the rise of vigilantism and the scapegoating of foreigners for economic crises.
Coordinated protests in major cities, including Johannesburg and Pretoria, soon escalated into violence, with protesters, often led by groups like Operation Dudula, demanding that undocumented foreigners leave the country.
High unemployment and severe economic “inequality” have led many South Africans to accuse foreign nationals of taking local jobs, burdening public services and causing high crime rates. Nigerians are particularly targeted based on the perception of their involvement in crime, particularly drug dealing. But officials of some of the Nigerian unions have dismissed these accusations as no more than a tissue of pokies aimed at besmirching Nigerians, often out of envy, and creating fear.
Videos of some of these savage attacks going viral online are quite disturbing. Some of them show mobs of angry and violent South Africans beating up African immigrant women on the streets, even while they were praying and holding up Bibles.
There are cases of hostile crowds of South African males chasing and stripping African immigrant women, including Nigerians, naked in the streets, seriously manhandling and sexually debasing them in the full glare of a miscellany of angry and depraved young men who recorded the disgusting sights with their telephones.
Eye-witnesses, in some cases, have reported South African mobs now hunting down African immigrants, including Nigerians, in their homes, stripping and beating them mercilessly and their children being turned back from schools. They are allegedly being thrown out of restaurants, shopping malls, hospitals and bundled out of their offices, work places and their stores being forcefully shut.
Some mobs are reportedly marching through the streets of their major cities, sparingly clad in tribal wear, singing war songs, brandishing spears and other crude weapons and hunting for black African immigrants, including Nigerians, as if they are animals.
Expectedly, the social media is abuzz with bileful comments from incensed Nigerians strongly furminating against the senseless anti-immigrant uprising. The governments and parliaments of Nigeria and Ghana have also taken strong diplomatic measures on the xenophobic attacks and their teleterious consequences.
In addition to requesting for the probe of the two Nigerians killed in the attacks, the Federal Government has also demanded through the South African envoy in Abuja that the authorities in Pretoria take strong measures to stop the waves of the unjustifiable attacks on Nigerians and safeguard the safety of its citizens in the country.
Abuja also urged Pretoria to expedite the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding earlier signed between the two countries on early warning mechanisms on anti-immigration fissures to prevent future occurrences of these aberrations. About 130 Nigerians have so far indicated interest to return home as the government intensifies preparations to evacuate its willing citizens back home as a result of the crisis.
Both chambers of the National Assembly have also condemned the recurrent anti-immigration violence and passed strong resolutions demanding justice, including the potential review of bilateral agreements, evacuation of willing citizens, and summoning the South African High Commissioner to address the systemic violence.
Specifically, the House of Representatives summoned the South African High Commissioner to express displeasure, demanded immediate protection for Nigerians and urged a review of bilateral agreements with the potential to suspend business permits for new South African companies. Members also called for the evacuation of willing citizens and established a joint ad-hoc committee to investigate the violence.
The Senate, in its own case, demanded a thorough investigation, prosecution of perpetrators and requested a new, comprehensive protection framework for Nigerians in the diaspora. The Senate leaders resolved to engage in high-level talks with South Africa to secure safety guarantees and initiated parliamentary dialogue to address the systemic issues.
The Parliament of Ghana and the Ghanaian government have also taken a proactive and strongly worded stance against the renewed xenophobic attacks, elevating the issue to the continental level through the African Union (AU).
The country has formally requested the AU to place the xenophobic attacks on the agenda of the Eighth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting scheduled for June 24–27, 2026, in El Alamein, Egypt. A letter, dated May 6, 2026, from Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, described the violence as “harrowing” and a threat to continental unity. The Ghanaian government urged the AU to establish a fact-finding mission to investigate the root causes of the violence and to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to protect foreign nationals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, like Nigeria, also summoned South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner to Ghana, Thando Dalamba, to express “strong concern” over the violence, which included the harassment of Ghanaian nationals.
The Ghanaian parliamentary representatives have emphasized that these attacks violate the spirit of African solidarity and the legacies of liberation leaders, warning that continued inaction could lead to retaliatory measures against South African businesses in Accra.
The South African government has, however, pushed back on the “xenophobic” narrative, positing that what is happening is pure criminality that has no official blessing. Government officials, including Presidential Spokesperson, Khusela Diko, have rejected the characterization of South Africa as “xenophobic,” maintaining that the country is a welcoming nation and that many reported incidents are exaggerated or based on fake images.
The government said it is actively engaging with African nations, particularly Nigeria and Ghana, to address concerns with the Department of International Relations (DIRCO) working to reassure neighbours of the safety of their citizens.
The South African cabinet said it has approved a Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection to improve border management and create a more orderly immigration system, aimed at reducing the tensions caused by undocumented migration.
While acknowledging tensions, the government emphasized that the majority of foreign nationals are safe, with officials engaging in constructive dialogue to manage potential risks and protect the dignity and rights of all individuals.
However, despite these official assurances from the authorities in Pretoria, violence has not abated, raising serious concerns from African nations about the government’s ability to walk its talk. Hence, Nigeria and other African nations should resort to stronger proactive measures to tighten diplomatic noose on Pretoria to take stronger actions on the recurrent anti-immigrant uprising.
They should partner with Ghana to invite the urgent intervention of AU and possibly the United Nations and work for possible sanctions against Pretoria. The South African authorities can certainly do more than they are doing now to stymie further violence.
It is rather tendentious for the South African authorities to have claimed that the savage and ferocious attacks being unleashed on Nigerians and other African nationals are “exaggerated” or “based on fake images!”
Do pictures lie? Pretoria must be made to appreciate the enormity of the hate and base sentiments impelling the ordinary South Africans who coalesce into mobs at every recurrent uprising and critically address the systematic issues once and for all. Enough is enough!
