Just in: South Africa embassy closed in Nigeria

Thursday, September 5, 2019 10:48 am

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa has temporarily closed its embassy in Nigeria following the ongoing xenophobic crisis, Foreign Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor told Reuters.

She said South Africa was in constant contact with Nigerian authorities to try to restore calm, adding there is no provision in local law for compensation for damage caused in the attacks.

“There is an Afrophobia we are sensing that exists, there is resentment and we need to address that,” Pandor said on the sidelines of a continental economic conference in Cape Town.

Amb. Bobby Moroe, the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, has also confirmed that the shutdown of the mission’s offices and consulate in the country.

He said the directive was as a result of fear arising from attacks on South African interests across Nigeria.

Moroe was quoted by The Nation newspaper saying, “I directed that the Mission should be closed until the situation improves. We heard that South Africans were being pulled out of vehicles and attacked. We feel unsafe and that is why I directed that the mission should close down until further notice.”

(Reuters/NAN)