•As FG demands early warnings pact ratification •Pretoria launches investigation into death of Nigerian By Nkiruka Nnorom President Bola Tinubu has declined to receive a special envoy dispatched by South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, Vanguard can authoritatively report. The development came amid growing concerns over persistent xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa. Sources familiar with the matter, who spoke exclusively with Vanguard yesterday, said the South African delegation, led by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived Abuja on Friday, July 24, with what was described to Nigerian officials as a “very important message” for the Nigerian leader.
The diplomatic snub comes less than 24 hours after the reported killing of a Nigerian national, Chika Ibe, who was allegedly picked up from his residence at Parksig Villas Complex in Bellville, Cape Town, and tortured to death by personnel of the South African Police Service, SAPS, according to a footage obtained by Vanguard from Nigerian community in South Africa. Diplomatic sources disclosed that Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, advised the Presidency that it was not an appropriate time for President Tinubu to receive the South African envoy and members of his delegation. According to the sources, the minister cited the continued attacks on Nigerians, their businesses and properties in South Africa as reason for the advice.
The foreign affairs minister stressed that the South African delegation could not be granted an audience with the President without a prior appointment and concrete commitments from Pretoria. She was said to have insisted that South Africa must first show concrete commitments and present a signed copy of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on the Early Warning Mechanism, EWM, which both countries signed in Abuja on October 22 last year, before further diplomatic engagement could proceed. South Africa has reportedly failed to ratify the agreement, citing what Nigerian officials described as “inadequate reasons.” The Early Warning Mechanism was designed to strengthen cooperation between both countries in monitoring threats of violence, protecting citizens and addressing consular matters.
It also provides for rapid communication channels to de-escalate security risks involving foreign natio… Nigeria urged South Africa on Monday to do more to prevent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants, saying repeated violence was straining ties and raising questions about whether the government was complicit. The comments came during talks in Abuja between Nigerian officials and a South African delegation led by Special Envoy and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye said President Bola Tinubu had ordered the meeting to address what Abuja described as persistent “Afrophobic attacks” targeting Nigerians and other African migrants in South Africa. South African vigilantes have attacked foreign nationals and looted foreign-owned shops on numerous occasions in the last few months, as many South Africans blame immigrants for problems such as crime and unemployment. At least four people have been killed.
Anti-immigrant protesters called for undocumented migrants to leave last month and marched in several South African cities. At least 1,490 Nigerians have been evacuated from South Africa since the latest outbreak of xenophobic violence, Nigerian officials said. “We have seen a pattern that has become a concern to the Nigerian government,” Enikanolaiye said, citing outbreaks of anti-migrant violence dating to 1995.
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