Nigeria’s National Assembly announced Friday that it is halting all official travel to South Africa and pulling out of parliamentary programs run by South African institutions, in protest over ongoing violence targeting Nigerians and other African migrants there.
Clerk to the National Assembly Kamoru Ogunlana said the move came after Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Abbas Tajudeen consulted and agreed on the freeze. It bars lawmakers, committees and staff from attending any South African-run seminars, workshops, exchange programs or conferences — in person or online — for as long as the suspension stays in effect.
Nigerian officials pointed to a pattern of Nigerians being killed, hurt, driven from their homes, and losing businesses and property in waves of unrest, arguing that diplomatic pressure from Abuja so far has not stopped the violence.
The chambers called on Pretoria to step up protection for foreign nationals, pursue investigations into the attacks, and hold those responsible accountable in court. Officials described the freeze as open-ended, to be revisited depending on how the situation develops.
The announcement builds on earlier steps by Nigeria’s government, which started flying citizens home from South Africa in June after another spike in attacks — an operation that brought back its first group of over 250 people.
