By Mary Onyia
The Federal Government has said the screening of Nigerians in South Africa who registered for voluntary evacuation following renewed xenophobic attacks will end on Saturday.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the exercise, which began on Thursday, is being conducted by the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria alongside South African authorities. “At the end of the screening, we will have a definite figure that has been cleared for evacuation. Thereafter, the government will finalise the details about the deployment of aircraft to bring them home,” he said.
The evacuation plan was announced after anti-immigrant protests in Pretoria and Johannesburg heightened fears among foreign nationals. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had earlier disclosed that 130 Nigerians initially registered for the programme, although reports indicate the number of those seeking voluntary repatriation has since risen to over 1,000.