The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has called for the intervention of the African Union in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Dabiri-Erewa who made the call on Saturday on her X (formerly Twitter) handle, urged Nigerians in South Africa to abide by the advisory issued by the Nigerian Embassy in Johannesburg.
“Our people in South Africa, please follow the advisory issued by the Nigerian Embassy in Johannesburg, as Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of State, #NigeriaMFA, has been engaging her counterpart in SA.
“The AU must intervene in these dastardly xenophobic attacks against blacks in South Africa.”She said.
NIDCOM’s ’ call follows an alert issued by the Nigerian Consulate General in Johannesburg, which reported that demonstrations in cities including East London, Cape Town, Durban, and KwaZulu-Natal have turned violent, resulting in looting, property destruction, and injuries.
The commission urged citizens to “avoid any confrontation with protesters, refrain from engaging with demonstration groups, and monitor local media outlets for real-time safety information,” while also emphasising the need to remain law-abiding at all times.
NiDCOM warned that foreign-owned businesses are often targeted during such unrest, advising Nigerian entrepreneurs to shut down operations on Freedom Day, April 27, and consider remaining closed on April 28 and 29.
