Nearly 200 nationals were lifted to Nigeria from South Africa because of increasing xenophobic attacks.
The Nigerian nationals arrived at Lagos International Airport at 9.35 p.m.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT ATTACKS
Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the nationals began boarding in Johannesburg at about 9.30 a.m. Nigerian time but were delayed by South African immigration for 15 hours because of documentation.
“We have a total of 189 Nigerians in the first batch of the evacuation exercise,” she told journalists. She said earlier Tuesday about 640 nationals are expected in Nigeria in two batches. A private airline volunteered to airlift the fleeing nationals.
Nigeria President Mohammadu Buhari on Monday ordered the immediate evacuation of nationals from South Africa following anti-migrants attacks. Scores of shops owned by Nigerians were destroyed in the wake of the violence.