President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a special envoy to President Cyril Ramaphosa, to register his displeasure over the killing of Nigerians in South A
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a special envoy to President Cyril Ramaphosa, to register his displeasure over the killing of Nigerians in South Africa. The envoy according to statement was expected to land in Pretoria by Thursday.
The statement, which was signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, did not give the name of the envoy. It added that Buhari was deeply concerned about the reported attacks on Nigerian citizens and property in South Africa since August 29, 2019.
Earlier today, Buhari instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, to summon the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria Bobby Moroe and get a brief on the situation; express Nigeria’s displeasure over the treatment of her citizens; and assurance of the safety of their lives and property.
On Monday, Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, said Nigerian shops in South Africa were being looted and burnt by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection. In a tweet, the minister described the constant negative reports about treatment of Nigerians in South Africa as sickening.
He said the federal government would take needed steps to curb the situation.
“Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection. Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures,” he tweeted.
Nigerians have been serially targeted for attacks in South Africa. In August, President Muhammadu Buhari met with Cyril Ramaphosa, South African president, on the sidelines of the Tokyo international conference on African development in Japan. Ramaphosa decried the protracted attacks on Nigerian citizens and promised that the security agents were working to stop the menace.
But a few days after the meeting, South Africans poured into the streets attacking foreigners and destroying their property – with Nigerians as specific targets.
