Tinubu declines meeting with South African envoy over xenophobic attacks

President Bola Tinubu on Monday declined to receive a special delegation sent by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over the ongoing xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, directing the team to instead meet with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.

Presidency sources confirmed that the delegation, led by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived in Abuja on Friday seeking an audience with the President.

According to one Presidency official, the delegation’s request was initially deferred because it had not been scheduled in advance. Although Tinubu reportedly agreed they could return on Monday, he later directed them to engage with Enikanolaiye, who would brief him on the outcome of the discussions.

A second source confirmed that the meeting with the President did not take place, while another official said no such engagement appeared on the President’s schedule.

The diplomatic development comes amid heightened tensions between Nigeria and South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African nationals, forcing the evacuation of nearly 600 Nigerians from South Africa.

Sources also disclosed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is attending official engagements in Addis Ababa, advised that it was not appropriate for Tinubu to personally receive the South African delegation while attacks on Nigerians and their businesses were still ongoing.

Receiving the delegation in Abuja, Enikanolaiye said the President had instructed him to engage the South African envoys on finding solutions to the crisis.

He said the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and South Africa should not be overshadowed by attacks on African migrants.

The minister described the attacks as a recurring problem, noting that similar incidents had been recorded in 1995, 1998, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2026.

He said official records showed that 98 Nigerians had been killed in mob and hate-related attacks since 2022.

Enikanolaiye recalled Nigeria’s support for South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle, stressing that while Nigeria does not defend criminality, anyone accused of an offence should be subjected to due process rather than mob justice.

He also expressed concern over what he described as the inability of South African security agencies to stop the attacks, saying the humanitarian consequences had been severe.

The minister recounted the evacuation of nearly 1,500 Nigerians during previous outbreaks of violence, describing the experience as heartbreaking as many victims returned home after losing their homes and businesses.

In his response, Lamola said President Ramaphosa had sent him as a special envoy to deliver a message to Tinubu and reaffirm South Africa’s opposition to xenophobia, racism and all forms of intolerance.

He, however, maintained that South Africa would continue to enforce its immigration laws and tackle criminal activities within its borders.

Lamola said migration remained a continental challenge that required cooperation between African countries and expressed confidence that continued dialogue would help strengthen relations between Nigeria and South Africa.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent weeks following a fresh wave of xenophobic violence that erupted across several South African provinces in April 2026.

The crisis prompted Tinubu to approve five Air Peace evacuation flights for stranded Nigerians, while the Nigerian government warned that retaliatory diplomatic measures remained an option. The House of Representatives also recommended suspending business permits for South African companies operating in Nigeria, and the Senate dispatched a delegation to Pretoria to convey Nigeria’s concerns.

Lamola’s visit is widely seen as part of Ramaphosa’s efforts to ease diplomatic tensions ahead of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on conflict prevention and resolution scheduled to hold in Angola from August 29 to 30, 2026.