ABUJA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least 640 Nigerians are expected back home from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in that country, a local official said here on Monday.
Two airplanes have been prepared to convey the Nigerian returnees in a couple of days, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, told reporters in Abuja.
"As I speak with you now, we have 640 Nigerians voluntarily registered to come home and they will be home in a couple of days. And we believe that more will still be coming to register," Dabiri-Erewa said. "When we receive the first two batches, we will know how many more will come."
Some Nigerians have been identified among victims of the renewed attacks which hit Johannesburg last week. The latest xenophobic attacks started since late August.
A local private airline in Nigeria had earlier offered to convey Nigerians back to the country but plans were temporarily suspended due to expired travel documents of most citizens in South Africa.
To resolve this, Dabiri-Erewa said Nigeria will provide emergency travel certificates for returnees with an expired passport.
The Nigerian foreign ministry on Friday said it will formally demand reparation for the country's citizens who suffered losses in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Dabiri-Erewa advised other Nigerians in South Africa to remain calm as the country continues to demand justice and compensation for them.
