National Assembly Suspends South Africa Trips, Boycotts Legislative Events Over Xenophobic Attacks

Nigeria’s National Assembly has suspended all official visits to South Africa and directed lawmakers and its officials to boycott legislative activities organised or hosted by South African authorities over renewed reports of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals.

The decision was contained in a statement signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, on behalf of the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The National Assembly said it was concerned about reports of violence, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of hostility allegedly targeting Nigerians and other African nationals living and doing business in South Africa.

According to the statement, the decision followed what the lawmakers described as the failure of repeated appeals by the Nigerian government and other stakeholders for South African authorities to take decisive measures to protect Nigerians and other foreign nationals and ensure that perpetrators of xenophobic attacks are brought to justice.

Under the resolution, official visits to South Africa by senators, members of the House of Representatives, committees, officials and staff of the National Assembly have been suspended until further notice.

The boycott also covers conferences, seminars, workshops, parliamentary meetings, legislative exchanges and other programmes organised or hosted by South African legislative authorities.

The National Assembly further directed its lawmakers and officials not to participate in South African-hosted legislative programmes, whether physically or through virtual platforms.

Ogunlana was consequently directed to communicate the resolution to senators, members of the House of Representatives, committees, departments, directorates and other relevant officials for strict compliance.

However, the lawmakers stressed that the decision was not intended to undermine Nigeria’s longstanding diplomatic, historical and people-to-people relations with South Africa.

Rather, they said the measure was an expression of concern over the safety, dignity and welfare of Nigerians living and conducting legitimate businesses in the country.

The National Assembly called on the South African government to urgently strengthen measures to protect Nigerians and other African nationals, prevent further xenophobic attacks, investigate reported incidents, arrest suspected perpetrators and prosecute those found culpable.

It also urged State Houses of Assembly to take note of the resolution and consider adopting similar measures.

The suspension and boycott will remain in force until further notice and may be reviewed depending on developments surrounding the safety and treatment of Nigerians in South Africa.