Nigeria Denies South Africa’s Reimbursement Claim
The Federal Government has denied receiving any formal request from South Africa for reimbursement of costs incurred in repatriating Nigerian nationals and other migrants from the country, even as South African officials told Parliament they had written to Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia seeking a refund.
The clarification from Abuja came after South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, revealing that the department had spent R292.77 million, approximately $18.5 million, on accommodating and transporting deportees and voluntary returnees during recent immigration enforcement operations. Home Affairs Director-General Tommy Makhode told lawmakers that the expenditure had substantially exceeded the department’s R60 million budgetary allocation for deportations this year, describing the spending as “unforeseen and unavoidable” and an unfunded mandate.
“We have not budgeted for this. Repatriations are not provided for in terms of our legislative frameworks. So to date, this is what we’ve spent: R292 million,” Makhode told the committee. He said the department had written to the governments of Malawi and to the embassies of Nigeria and Ethiopia requesting reimbursements through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). “We are expecting responses from those governments,” Makhode added.
But Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, told journalists on Wednesday that the government had received no such document. “It is not true, we have not received any document to that effect,” Ebienfa said. Asked whether South Africa had responded to Nigeria’s own request for compensation for Nigerians forced to leave businesses and property behind amid anti-immigrant tensions, he said no response had been received yet.
Corroborating the position, Nigeria’s Consul General in South Africa, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, confirmed that no demand for reimbursement had been communicated to the Nigerian mission in Pretoria.
The reimbursement request stems from one of the largest mass repatriation operations in South Africa’s recent history, triggered by nationwide anti-immigration protests that erupted across the country from late April 2026. Anti-immigration groups, including March and March and Operation Dudula, organised demonstrations demanding stronger border controls and faster deportation of undocumented migrants, setting June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave. The protests, which attracted thousands of marchers under heightened security, followed weeks of mobilisation and generated widespread anxiety among foreign nationals.
According to South African government figures, the scale of the exodus has been unprecedented. As of August 3, 2026, South Africa had repatriated 77,184 undocumented foreign nationals to various countries. The Department of Home Affairs reported that 82,875 people had been processed through repatriation centres by August 6. Between April and July, 18,816 people were formally deported, while more than 3,000 remained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre awaiting deportation. The Border Management Authority put the total number of people who had passed through official ports of exit at nearly 90,000.
However, figures released by the governments of migrants’ home countries suggest the total may be significantly higher, with some estimates placing the number at about 178,000. South African law enforcement officials said they had arrested nearly 60,000 people who were in the country illegally, including 16,208 arrested in July alone.
The majority of those returning to their countries of origin came from Malawi, followed by Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The number of people repatriated so far this year is more than double the 44,607 people repatriated during the last financial year.
Makhode told the parliamentary committee that transport costs accounted for the bulk of the expenditure, with the department hiring buses to transport migrants, running temporary repatriation centres, and paying staff overtime. The Department of Public Works spent R48 million setting up a temporary repatriation centre in Musina, Limpopo Province, which could accommodate up to 20,000 people. The municipalities of eThekwini and Cape Town had been reimbursed for buses they arranged.
Some municipalities and government departments that assisted with the operation are also seeking reimbursement from Home Affairs, since the costs had not been budgeted for. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has described the recent volume of repatriations and deportations as unprecedented.
The department’s annual allocation for deportations through the Criminal Assets Recovery Account stands at approximately R57 million to R60 million. The R292 million spent represents more than five times that allocation.
The reimbursement request from Pretoria comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s own efforts to seek compensation from South Africa for citizens who suffered losses during the anti-immigrant unrest. In early July 2026, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would seek compensation for Nigerian citizens who had been forced to leave businesses and property behind amid the tensions.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa told the BBC at the time that the issue would be discussed between the two governments “at the highest levels”. By late July, the Federal Government had begun issuing forms to Nigerians who lost property during the attacks to formally document their losses as part of preparations to table compensation claims in ongoing diplomatic negotiations.
However, South African authorities rejected Nigeria’s compensation demands. In early July, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation reportedly shut down Nigeria’s claims, with officials stating that the government would not compensate foreign nationals who fled following the outbreaks of violence. Some South African officials also argued that there was no clear legal basis for Nigeria to pursue compensation claims.
Former South-East spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, who issued a statement from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, rejecting South Africa’s reimbursement demand, said the matter should be subjected to diplomatic and legal review. He argued that costs incurred by South African authorities in managing immigration-related operations should not automatically be transferred to other sovereign governments, and that the responsibilities of a host country towards migrants and foreign nationals should be considered within the framework of applicable international and regional agreements.
Onoh also called for consultations among Nigeria, Malawi, Ethiopia and other affected countries to develop a coordinated position on the reported repatriation expenses.
The latest diplomatic friction occurs within a broader context of recurring tensions between Nigeria and South Africa over the treatment of Nigerian nationals in South Africa. Xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African migrants have been recorded in South Africa repeatedly since 1998, with significant outbreaks in 2006, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024 and 2026.
In the wake of the April 2026 protests, the Nigerian Senate warned that Nigeria could review its diplomatic relations with South Africa if renewed xenophobic attacks against Nigerians persisted. In June 2026, Nigerian officials suggested that retaliatory actions were “not off the table” against South Africa over what they described as discriminatory treatment of Nigerians in the country.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly insisted that “South Africa is not xenophobic” and that “South Africans are not xenophobic”. In late July 2026, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola emphasised that the South African government unequivocally condemns all forms of xenophobia, racism, discrimination and related intolerance. Both countries’ delegations condemned xenophobia and agreed that public frustration over crime cannot justify vigilante violence or attacks on foreign nationals.
Anti-immigration activists in South Africa have consistently rejected accusations of xenophobia, maintaining that they are only protesting against undocumented residents. However, advocacy groups report that verbal threats and physical assaults have taken place against foreign nationals regardless of their immigration status.
The data from South African authorities reveals the scale of the operation:
· Total repatriated as of August 3, 2026: 77,184 undocumented foreign nationals
· Processed through repatriation centres as of August 6: 82,875 people
· Formally deported between April and July: 18,816 people
· Awaiting deportation at Lindela: 3,016 people
· Total expenditure: R292.77 million (approximately $18.5 million)
· Annual budget for deportations: R60 million
· Cost overrun: nearly five times the budgeted amount
· Nigerians repatriated in June alone: 586, with 268 on the first flight
The 586 Nigerians repatriated in June were processed after being found to be residing in South Africa illegally. They were issued with Emergency Travel Documents by the Nigerian High Commission and declared undesirable persons, prohibiting them from re-entering South Africa for five years. Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, had previously said more than 1,000 Nigerian citizens had registered for voluntary return from South Africa following renewed anti-immigrant attacks.
As of Thursday, August 14, 2026, several key questions remain unresolved. The Nigerian government maintains it has not received any formal reimbursement request from South Africa, despite South African officials telling Parliament that letters had been sent. It remains unclear whether the correspondence was dispatched through diplomatic channels and, if so, why it has not reached Nigerian authorities.
Similarly, South Africa has not responded to Nigeria’s compensation claims for citizens who lost property during the unrest. The Federal Government has been collecting claims from affected Nigerians since July, but it is uncertain whether diplomatic negotiations on the matter are ongoing or have reached an impasse.
The legal basis for South Africa’s reimbursement request also remains unclear. Makhode acknowledged before Parliament that repatriations are “not provided for in terms of our legislative frameworks”. International law experts have previously questioned whether host countries can legally demand reimbursement from sending countries for immigration enforcement costs.
The South African government is expecting responses from the three countries, but none has formally responded as of this report. Ghana, which was not among the countries formally requested for reimbursement, has also publicly rejected any suggestion that it should contribute to repatriation costs.
What remains certain is that the mass repatriation operation represents one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in South Africa’s post-apartheid history, and the financial and diplomatic repercussions are likely to continue unfolding in the coming weeks and months.