The Nigerian Consulate General in Johannesburg yesterday issued a warning to Nigerians living in South Africa to exercise extreme caution as the authorities began a crackdown on undocumented foreigners and others engaged in criminal activities.
The Cyril Ramaphosa government has been under pressure in the past weeks to address illegal immigration by tightening border controls to combat unlawful entry, illicit trade, and fraudulent activities in the Rainbow nation.
Anti-immigration demonstrators have accused illegal immigrants, including Nigerians, of taking away jobs, healthcare, housing and public services, saying their country could not continue to bear the burden of millions of foreigners escaping poor governance in their countries.
The Ramaphosa government moved to respond to illegal immigration by unveiling a sweeping set of reforms to strengthen law enforcement to protect national sovereignty while upholding constitutional values. But President Ramaphosa last week urged his African counterparts to address some of the domestic factors responsible for “people to migrate in large numbers and seek refuge in different parts of the continent, including South Africa”.
He said: “The continent needs to work together to address the issues that are behind these levels of migration that we see across our continent. “Issues of conflicts, issues of instability, and in some areas, if we’re being honest, the misgovernance that causes people to migrate in large numbers and seek refuge in different parts of the continent, including South Africa.”
With the South African authorities’ large-scale law enforcement operations across parts of Gauteng Province from Monday to Friday, Nigerian Consulate General Ninikanwa Olachi Okey-Uche, in a statement, alerted Nigerians to the operations targeting undocumented foreigners, criminal activities, traffic violations and other compliance-related matters.
The South African Police Service, Metro Police, Department of Home Affairs, National Traffic Police, Gauteng Traffic Authorities and the South African National Defence Force are involved in the operations. According to the statement, the operations may feature roadblocks, stop-and-search, verification checks and possible house-to-house inspections.
The Consulate urged Nigerians to remain law-abiding, carry valid identification and immigration documents, regularise outstanding immigration, business, or vehicle compliance issues, and avoid unnecessary movement in identified high-risk areas. It also cautioned citizens against obstructing or confronting law enforcement officers.
