•Senator Musiliu Obanikoro: junior foreign minister

Nigeria has complained to South Africa about a wave of attacks targeting foreigners and called on Pretoria to punish the culprits and compensate the victims, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Junior foreign minister Musiliu Obanikoro summoned South Africa’s High Commissioner Lulu Mnguni “to register Nigeria’s protest over the ongoing xenophobic attacks against fellow Africans in South Africa”.

“In the meeting, ambassador Obanikoro condemned the attacks on foreigners in South Africa, expressing concern on the fate of Nigerians and indeed of other nationals who are migrants in the country,” said a statement from his office.

South Africa needed to take “concrete steps to quell the unrest and bring the culprits involved to book” to act as a deterrent and prevent further violence, the statement added.

“He also called on the South African authorities to compensate the victims of these attacks,” the ministry said.

Soldiers were deployed overnight to tackle gangs hunting down and killing foreigners after at least seven people died in violence in the last few weeks.

On Wednesday, police said 11 men were arrested in a raid in Johannesburg.