Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, has revealed that approximately 90 Nigerians have lost their lives to Afrophobic violence in South Africa since June 2022, with new attacks and displacement incidents reported in 2026.
Enikanolaiye made the disclosure on Tuesday during a virtual roundtable organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on “South Africa’s Xenophobia in Comparative Perspective.”
His media aide, Raphael Oni, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The minister expressed concern over the continued attacks, warning that the violence was damaging South Africa’s international standing, discouraging investors and undermining regional integration.
He said the situation “undermines South Africa’s international reputation, erodes investor confidence, threatens regional integration, and diminishes the moral authority earned during its liberation struggle.”
Enikanolaiye urged South African authorities to take immediate and practical steps to end xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks targeting Africans, stressing the need for improved migration management, accountable leadership and stronger ties among people across the continent.
He said Nigeria regarded the issue “as one that must be understood without denial or exaggeration,” describing the attacks as having “a particularly African, post-colonial and post-apartheid character,” which he said justified the use of the term Afrophobia.
The minister also criticised the targeting of nationals from African countries that supported South Africa during its struggle against apartheid, describing the situation as a contradiction in which former allies were now being treated as “unwanted outsiders.”
To preserve the historical record of Nigeria’s role in South Africa’s liberation, Enikanolaiye disclosed that “the Ministry has directed the NIIA to undertake a comprehensive study documenting Nigeria’s support for the liberation struggle.”
He added that Nigeria’s financial contribution to the struggle was estimated at “over $60 billion, in addition to the nationalization of British Petroleum, scholarships, and hospitality extended to South African leaders in Nigeria,” Ambassador Enikanolaiye stated.
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The minister called on South Africa to “strengthen migration systems that are transparent and humane, and to ensure that the enforcement of immigration laws remains solely with the state.”
He further warned against vigilantism and urged political leaders “to guard their language, noting that rhetoric that paints migrants as ‘criminals’ or ‘job thieves’ fosters an environment where violence thrives.”
Enikanolaiye also advocated for “public discourse grounded in facts and data, rather than misinformation and social media rumours.”
Nigeria, he said, wants existing Nigeria-South Africa early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms to be fully activated “to detect and defuse tensions before they escalate.”
Beyond official interventions, the minister called for stronger people-to-people diplomacy, including efforts to “mobilising businesses, universities, religious and traditional institutions, youth groups, civil society and the media to rebuild trust and promote a shared African identity.”
He further announced that “Nigeria, together with Ghana, will be presenting the matter at the next Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.”
While acknowledging South Africa’s readiness to examine the “push and pull factors” behind migration, Enikanolaiye maintained that “priority attention must be given to the hate-driven violence and attacks causing anguish among African nationals.”