BREAKING NEWS: South Africa apologizes to Nigeria over deportation row
South Africa has apologized for a mass deportation of Nigerians, saying officials at Johannesburg's main airport did not properly check their health certificates.
At a news conference in Pretoria Thursday, deputy foreign minister Ibrahim Ibrahim said:
"We wish to humbly apologize to them, and we have."
Two diplomats from the Nigerian High Commission accompanied Ibrahim to the news conference, but refused to comment beyond a joint statement that described tit-for-tat deportations the two countries say should not affect their relations.
On March 2, South Africa deported 125 Nigerians who, according to airport health authorities, carried fraudulent yellow fever cards. Since then, authorities in Lagos have deported South Africans, raising health concerns.
Ibrahim said South African airport authorities did not properly check to determine whether the cards were authentic. He said South Africa was considering reopening a health clinic at the airport to ensure such deportations are not repeated.
Nigeria Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru, speaking to members of the National Assembly on Tuesday, linked the deportations to what he called the “xenophobia” faced by Nigerian immigrants living in South Africa who fear police who arrest them without cause.
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