Eighty-three Nigerian returnees from South Africa have arrived in Lagos following the wave of xenophobic attacks targeting mainly African migrants.
In a statement on Wednesday night, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said they arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg.
The returnees were accompanied by two officials from the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ebienfa reiterated the fact that the “repatriation exercise of this batch of returnees was facilitated through the procurement of flight tickets by good-spirited private individuals, whose generous support enabled their safe return to Nigeria.”
Upon arrival, the returnees were received by the Director, African Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Haruna Ali-Gombe, who welcomed them on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He said, thereafter, they were handed over to the relevant government agencies for necessary documentation and profiling ahead of their reunification with their families.
The spokesman re-echoed the Federal Government’s commitment to the welfare and safe return of all Nigerian citizens abroad and expressed profound appreciation to the Nigerian Mission in South Africa, the private individuals who sponsored the exercise, and all agencies involved in ensuring a smooth reception and reintegration process.
South Africa has long been a magnet for migrants.
But it has seen recurring bouts of anti-migrant violence for nearly two decades, with protests intensifying this year after vigilante groups ordered undocumented foreigners to leave by June 30.
More than 176,000 people have left in recent weeks, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by African countries that have repatriated their nationals.
At least four migrants have been killed in the violence, according to the South African police, though some foreign governments say the death toll is higher.
Ghana, which has been an outspoken critic of the fatal attacks, has called for an African Union debate on the anti-migrant violence at the next AU summit early next year.
Nigeria, which has also clashed diplomatically with South Africa over recurring attacks on its citizens, has likewise pushed to put the issue on the AU’s agenda.
Six years after stepping down as working royals, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are moving back to the United Kingdom within weeks, British press reported late Wednesday.
In a surprise move, Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, and his wife Meghan, “plan to leave the United States by the end of the month to settle in a private, non-royal residence, which is said to be located outside London”, The Telegraph said.
Several UK news outlets, including the BBC, reported the couple’s two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, had already been enrolled in a British school for the start of the school year in early September.
It was reported that the couple had already chosen a new house, but that it would not be one of the many royal residences.
Harry and Meghan have lived in California since stepping down as working royals in 2020, and the children had not seen their grandfather since 2022.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, left Britain for North America in 2020 amid a bitter feud with his family, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir “Spare”.
Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2R) talks with Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (R) as Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, (L) talks with Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (2L) as they all attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019.
A no-holds-barred interview with US talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey also deepened the rift.
The Press Association said the 77-year-old Charles had been made aware on Sunday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex planned to return to live in the UK.
The monarch “welcomes the opportunity to see more of the family in a personal capacity”, but there will be no change in their status, and the couple would still not be working royals, PA said.
Harry has said he did not feel safe bringing his family to Britain after losing a court battle over government-funded police protection.
“It’s impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely,” he said last year after the ruling.
A Home Office spokesperson said Britain’s protective security system was “rigorous and proportionate”, adding that decisions are taken by a committee whose members include the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the royal household.
‘Extraordinary Development’
The stunning news comes after Harry and Meghan paid a short visit to the UK with the children in early July, during which they had a private meeting with Charles.
Harry said last year that he wanted to reconcile with his father, who was diagnosed two years ago with cancer and has been receiving treatment since. The type of cancer has never been revealed.
It was not immediately clear whether Harry’s older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, had been informed of the news. The two brothers have become estranged and reportedly no longer talk.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News television that it was “an extraordinary development”.
“My first thought frankly is… they failed to make it in the US… essentially they failed to be A-listers in Hollywood.”
While the couple signed a mega deal with Netflix in 2020 reportedly worth an unconfirmed $100 million, many of their projects have struggled to win over audiences.
And the new deal signed with the US streaming giant in August 2025 was a looser arrangement, described as a “multi-year, first look deal”.
‘Untruths’
The Sun newspaper said the couple would keep their Montecito home in California, as well as a house in Portugal where they are believed to have enjoyed some vacation time this summer.
Even the run-up to Harry’s July trip was rocked by setbacks, with media outlets quoting sources close to him as saying the prince would be staying at Buckingham Palace in London — only for the palace to issue a denial.
News of the couple’s surprise return after their painful departure from Britain — dubbed Megxit by the British tabloids — also comes the day after Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, revealed that he had written a book about his sister’s life.
Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while trying to shake off the paparazzi.
“Swan Song: Diana, My Sister” will be published in Britain and other countries on September 22 and translated into 12 languages.
“With the 30th anniversary of Diana’s tragic death on the skyline, I’ve been inundated yet again with requests for interviews about my sister,” Spencer said.
“This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all,” he said, adding many opinions were “based on untruths that have become accepted over time”.
Spencer, 62, has remained close to both his nephews, and Harry and Meghan and their children reportedly visited the earl’s ancestral home at Althorp, central England, in early July where they were said to have visited Diana’s grave.
AFP
