Nigeria evacuates citizens from South Africa as anti-migrant sentiment rises

14 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on Google Mayeni Jones, BBC Africa Correspondent, Johannesburgand Makuochi Okafor, Lagos Reuters Many African migrants are living in fear in South Africa Nigeria has become the latest African state to repatriate some of its citizens from South Africa following a rise in anti-migrant sentiments in the country. A flight carrying 268 Nigerians has landed in Lagos after leaving Johannesburg on Thursday morning. The passengers were part of around 1,000 people who the Nigerian consulate in South Africa says have registered to be repatriated. Ghana, Zimbabwe and Malawi have already carried out evacuations, ahead of a 30 June deadline set . Many people from other parts of Africa moved to South Africa around the time white-minority rule ended in 1994, hoping for a better life. But with South Africa facing an unemployment rate of more than 30%, anti-migrant sentiments have risen, with protest marches being held in major cities and people facing xenophobic attacks. At the main international airport in Johannesburg, Justin, one of the Nigerian passengers, told the BBC that he had lived in South Africa since 1998. "I'm leaving because of the conditions they've given us here. They say we must leave on or before 30th June. And because of the way they are killing people, killing our brothers, so I'm not safe," Justin said. Justin told the BBC that he had already been targeted. "Recently they attacked me in a taxi. I ran away and left my things. I left my phone and everything. "They call us names and say you must leave this country. When we tried to beg them, they started insulting us." After landing in Lagos, hairdresser and mother-of-three Chinwe Osuala said she had experienced violence during an earlier wave of anti-migrant attacks. "I was personally attacked in my business premises. But after everything I called the police. Police helped me." She said the attack left her deeply concerned about her family's future. "You can't even walk around freely. You'll be scared, the children are scared that's the main reason I came back, because of the children" Despite her decision to leave, she said she would miss many of the friends she had made in South Africa. "Most of them, they were crying because I was leaving. When you talk about South Africans not all of them are xenophobic there are people who love you deeply, genuinely." The head of Nigeria's Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, told the BBC that the country's emergency management agency would transport returnees to destinations across Nigeria's 36 states.