Nigerian Envoy Rules Out Immediate Evacuation Of Citizens in S. Africa

A Nigerian envoy in South Africa has ruled out the possibility of immediate evacuation of citizens from the nation that has seen days of xenophobic attacks in different provinces.

The Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr Martin Cobham, said it was a bit too early to consider the option of evacuation of Nigerians.

He said there was the need for calm, despite calls by Nigerian for the evacuation of Nigerians in South Africa.

“I will not want to subscribe to an immediate evacuation. We want to look at this thing on three phases – the lower threat, middle threat and the higher threat.

“We can only tell our people; for now, abide by the hosts laws, avoid areas of imminent clashes and violence and work in concert with local authorities to ensure that peace reign,” Mr Cobham said.

He said that some social media messages making the rounds were false alarming bells and mischievous.

“Some of these photographs and videos were occurrences that happened in the DRC or even Rwanda and they are now replicated to foment trouble, linking it to xenophobia,” he explained.

The xenophobic attacks in South Africa KwaZulu-Natal province have continued, despite worldwide outrage and efforts by the country’s leaders to calm the situation.

Earlier on Saturday, President Jacob Zuma canceled a planned state visit to Indonesia in order to attend to the lingering issues of xenophobic attacks in some provinces.