The federal government’s fourth evacuation flight from South Africa touched down at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, late Thursday, July 9, 2026, carrying 282 Nigerians.
Since the repatriation operation began on June 11, a total of 1,141 Nigerians have been brought home. Officials say more than 1,000 citizens indicated interest in returning.
Ahead of Thursday’s arrival, Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu urged Nigerians to use the ongoing evacuation program to come home.
Her appeal followed reports that two more Nigerian nationals had died in South Africa, raising the government’s confirmed death toll to four since the start of the xenophobic unrest; some returnees contend the real number may be higher.
Despite an unofficial June 30 deadline set by South African rights groups for undocumented migrants to leave, the Nigerian government has continued repatriation flights.
The foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said a fifth and final government-organized flight is scheduled to arrive in Nigeria next week.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu reiterated that authorities will not abandon any citizen who has asked to be repatriated.
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