Twelve Nigerians stranded in South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks have returned home with assistance from the Group of Nigerian Professionals Johannesburg (GNPJ).
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this in a post on X on Friday.
She said the group purchased flight tickets for the 12 individuals who were unable to board the last Federal Government-sponsored evacuation flight.
The returnees comprise 10 adults and two children from Ogun, Anambra, Ondo, Imo, Edo and Oyo states. They arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9, 2026.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed appreciation to Mr C. Darl Uzu and the GNPJ for assisting the stranded and destitute nationals who were “desperate to return home to Nigeria.”
The Minister also commended individuals, groups, associations and religious bodies that have come to the aid of affected Nigerians.
“Every little bit helps. This is what it means to be our brothers’ (and sisters’) keepers,” she said.
She appealed to state governments that have not yet done so to assist their indigenes.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working with the Nigerian Embassy in Pretoria and the Consulate in Johannesburg, remains committed to supporting and coordinating the safe, orderly and dignified repatriation of the remaining stranded and destitute Nigerians in South Africa.
