The Nigeria Police on Wednesday warned Nigerians not to attack South African nationals, businesses or other lawful interests in retaliation for violence reported in South Africa. The force said additional security had been deployed around foreign missions, key infrastructure and other sensitive locations, and that any attempt to target South African interests in Nigeria would be treated as a criminal act.
The warning came after a meeting of security and intelligence chiefs and landed as tensions climbed over anti-migrant protests in South Africa. Aliyu Giwa appealed publicly for calm in a post on X, saying, “We recognise the pain and anger caused by recent attacks on Nigerians abroad,” and added that the police understood those concerns deeply but that “this is a time for calm and restraint.”
That appeal was aimed squarely at a volatile moment. Demonstrations in South Africa have focused on tougher action against undocumented migrants, with protesters accusing them of pressure on public services and of crime. The group behind the protests, March and March, said it was pushing immigration reform and called on undocumented migrants to leave by 30 June. Several African countries have already told their citizens to stay vigilant, and Ghana recently evacuated hundreds of its nationals, citing safety concerns.
The friction is that police in Nigeria moved to head off reprisal attacks even though South African police had not confirmed any attacks on foreigners at the time of the report. The South African government condemned criminal acts directed at foreign nationals, but the warning in Nigeria also reflects a memory that has not faded: earlier bouts of xenophobic violence in South Africa sparked diplomatic tensions and retaliatory attacks in Nigeria, including the vandalising and looting of some South African-owned businesses.
For now, the response in Nigeria is a preventative one, built around security deployments and public restraint rather than any confirmed wave of revenge attacks. What remains unanswered is whether the warning itself has been enough to stop isolated reprisals before they can take hold.
