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No
fewer than 320 were supposed to be evacuated on Tuesday, but the
exercise was delayed because South Africa initially did not grant an Air
Peace aircraft, a landing permit.
File Photo
No fewer than 817 Nigerians had yet to be evacuated from South Africa as of Tuesday.
The Federal Government had on Wednesday last week evacuated 187
Nigerians from South Africa following xenophobic attacks on them and
other Africans.
On Tuesday, the Consul-General, Nigerian High Commission in South
Africa, Godwin Adama, in a telephone interview with one of our
correspondents, said the number of those who had registered for
evacuation had increased to 1,004.
Last week, the Federal Government had said 604 registered for evacuation.
No fewer than 320 were supposed to be evacuated on Tuesday, but the
exercise was delayed because South Africa initially did not grant an
Air Peace aircraft, a landing permit.
The evacuation of 187 Nigerians last week was delayed for 15 hours by the South African authorities.
With the registration of 1,004 and evacuation of 187 last week, at least 817 people were awaiting to be evacuated on Tuesday.
The Consul-General, Nigerian High Commission in South Africa, told The PUNCH that 320 Nigerians would be evacuated on Wednesday.
According to him, the technical issues faced during the first evacuation are being addressed.
He complained that some individuals, who registered for evacuation,
failed to show up. He added that officials had been contending with
such discouraging tendencies from the people.
Adama explained that about five coaches were being filled with people for the trip to the airport, including many children.
Some who registered for evacuation failed to show up – Consular
He said, “We have been working since 6am when I got here
(consulate). I have not sat down. We have 320 coming back
tomorrow(Wednesday).Some people who are supposed to be on the flight,
when you call their names, they are not here. We have registered 1,004
persons. When these ones go, we will still have people on the ground.”
Adama further disclosed that those without valid Nigerian passport
were being issued emergency travel certificates, adding that certain
documentation and immigration issues had also been addressed.
He noted, “Right now, we have five coaches here which we are
loading. There are so many children. Those who don’t have current valid
passport have been issued emergency travel certificates and we have
ensured that their documentation is correct so that we won’t have the
challenges we had the other time.
“We are also working with the host authorities – immigration
and protocol – so that by tomorrow (Wednesday) things can be
seamless.”
Plans to bring back 25 detained Nigerians
Asked about plans for the evacuation of Nigerians in custody of the
South Africa law enforcement agencies, the envoy revealed that those in
custody would also be returned on subsequent flights.
Adama disclosed that many Nigerians were being held in various
detention facilities across South Africa, adding that the Nigerian High
Commission was in touch with only 25 of them.
“We are ready to take those who are in detention camps, but we
don’t have space right now because they (South Africa) didn’t finalise
the process. If we have the opportunity, next time, we would take them.
“I would not know the exact number now because we have not
visited all the detention centres. We are in touch with 25 but they are
far more than that in different centres,” the CG explained.
Commenting on the alleged cancellation of valid visas held by
Nigerians during the evacuation of the first batch, Adama said only few
persons were affected, noting that they informed him that they had no
plan to return to South Africa.
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