The first group of Nigerians returned to Lagos on Thursday after South Africa ordered their repatriation following violent anti-immigration protests. The flight carried 262 passengers and three officials, marking the first organized return of Nigerians from the country since the unrest escalated.
Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said more than 1,000 Nigerians had registered for voluntary return, underscoring how many people were caught up in the latest wave of disorder. The return came on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as Nigeria became the latest African country to arrange evacuation flights from South Africa.
The trip home lands in the middle of a dispute over why the passengers were sent back. South African authorities said the returnees were in the country illegally. Nigerian officials said they were fleeing xenophobic attacks, after a series of anti-immigration protests in South Africa since April led to violence against some foreigners.
South African officials have condemned the protests as xenophobic acts, but the damage has already spread beyond the rallies themselves. The unrest has become part of a wider strain between foreign workers and local residents, and it has forced governments across the region to start moving people out. Nigeria has not said when the next flight will leave, or how many of the more than 1,000 registered returnees will still be brought home.
