Nigerian ambassador says more than 30 Nigerians killed by South African security forces
Nigeria’s ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, said that since 2022, more than 30 Nigerian citizens have been killed by members of the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force. In his assessment, more than 100 Nigerians have died in South Africa during this period, including eight in 2026. The diplomat wrote this on Facebook on September 11, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
According to Fani-Kayode, at least four of the eight Nigerians who died this year were killed by South African police officers. He also reported cases of ill-treatment of Nigerian citizens by representatives of South Africa’s police and defence forces.
Death of two Nigerian citizens
The ambassador’s statement came after reports of the deaths of James Nwankwo and Taiwo Fakunle. According to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, Nwankwo died in Somerset West, Cape Town, on September 5. The publication reports that he was allegedly killed by members of the South African Police Service.
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Fani-Kayode said that Nwankwo died after an interrogation during which, according to the ambassador’s description, police used brutal methods. Fakunle was shot dead at his home in Johannesburg on September 4. The ambassador called him a bishop and claimed that the killers had threatened the man before the attack. The identities of the attackers have not been established, according to the source.
Call to protect foreigners
The ambassador also said that xenophobic and Afrophobic groups had set a new deadline for Black foreigners to leave South Africa. They had previously named June 30 as the deadline; the publication reported that this heightened tensions and prompted protests against African migrants in the country’s cities.
Fani-Kayode claims that these groups threatened to harm Nigerians and other foreigners from African countries if they did not comply with their demands. He called on the South African government to protect foreigners and bring those responsible to justice, stating that no one had been arrested, detained or brought before a court over the crimes he mentioned.
