NANS Storms Abuja, Pickets South African Embassy Over Xenophobic Killings

The National Association of Nigerian Students mobilized its members in the nation’s capital on Thursday, staging a mass protest at the South African High Commission in Abuja to demand immediate action against the escalating xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians in South Africa.

Hundreds of students, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, gathered at the diplomatic mission in the Central Business District, blocking the entrance and presenting a formal letter of grievance to embassy officials. The protest came barely 48 hours after NANS had threatened economic retaliation against South African businesses operating in Nigeria.

In a statement read to journalists at the protest venue, the National President of NANS, Comrade Atiku Isah, declared that Nigerian students have lost confidence in repeated diplomatic assurances from Pretoria and are now taking their grievances directly to South Africa’s doorstep.

“We are here today to send a clear and unmistakable message to the government of South Africa. The blood of our brothers and sisters will not be shed in vain,” Isah said.

The student leader cataloged recent incidents that triggered the protest, including the deaths of Ekpenyong Andrew and Amaramiro Emmanuel, two Nigerians allegedly killed by South African security personnel in April 2026. He reminded the South African government of Nigeria’s historic sacrifices during the anti-apartheid struggle, arguing that the current hostility represents a profound betrayal of Pan-African solidarity.

“Nigerian workers, students, civil servants, and market women stood at the forefront from the 1960s to the 1990s, sacrificing financial resources and diplomatic goodwill for the liberation and dignity of South Africans,” Isah said. “This is how we are repaid?”

The NANS President further demanded that the South African government conduct transparent investigations into the killings, prosecute all perpetrators, and provide adequate compensation to the families of victims. He warned that failure to meet these demands would trigger nationwide mobilization against South African businesses, including MTN and MultiChoice.

“We have run out of patience. Symbolic gestures and empty press statements will no longer suffice,” Isah added.

Security personnel attached to the High Commission monitored the protest from behind barricades but did not intervene as students maintained a peaceful but firm presence. A representative of the embassy eventually received the students’ memorandum, promising to transmit it to authorities in Pretoria.

The protest in Abuja coincided with similar demonstrations in Ibadan and Lagos, where student unions held solidarity rallies at South African business outlets. The Federal Government has already summoned South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele, to formally convey Nigeria’s displeasure over the attacks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 130 Nigerians have so far registered for voluntary repatriation flights from South Africa.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly has also weighed in, with the Senate passing a resolution describing the attacks as “barbaric, unlawful and inconsistent with African brotherhood.” The House of Representatives directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the South African envoy and review all bilateral agreements between both nations.

As the protest wound down, Atiku Isah reaffirmed NANS’s commitment to sustained action, declaring that the students will not relent until concrete measures are taken to protect Nigerian lives in South Africa.

“We are watching. We are waiting. And we are ready,” he said.