The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has activated reception arrangements for Nigerian citizens being evacuated from South Africa aftermath of xenophobic attacks against Black immigrants in the country.

​Mrs. Zubaida Umar, NEMA Director-General, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, saying the agency’s response team had been deployed to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

​Umar noted that the NEMA team would receive the returnees in company of other relevant government agencies and stakeholders.

​According to her, the first batch of the evacuees will depart the Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, on Wednesday night.

​She added that the returnees were expected to arrive at the MMIA, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday.

​The evacuation exercise follows recent diplomatic interventions and voluntary repatriation frameworks established to assist Nigerians facing socio-economic challenges, documentation issues, and safety concerns abroad.

​The Federal Government has, through NEMA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consistently maintained a policy of evacuating distressed citizens from various parts of the world.

These include past successful interventions in Sudan, Libya, and South Africa during periods of civil unrest and xenophobic tensions.