Nigeria Says Two More Nationals Killed in South Africa as Diplomatic Tensions Deepen

Nigeria says two more of its nationals have been killed in South Africa as anti-migrant tensions deepen an already serious diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry says James Uchechukwu Nwankwo died after what it described as abusive interrogation by South African police officers in Cape Town.

South African police had not responded to the Associated Press when asked about that allegation.

A second Nigerian national, Taiwo Michael Fakunle, described by AP as a bishop, was killed at his home in Johannesburg.

No suspect or motive has been publicly established in his killing.

The deaths come amid growing anger in Nigeria over the treatment of its citizens in South Africa.

Nigeria’s parliament has indefinitely suspended official visits and engagements with South Africa, signalling that the issue has moved beyond isolated criminal cases and into a broader diplomatic confrontation.

The wider numbers are also politically significant.

Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs said in July that at least 98 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa since 2022 in mob attacks, hate-related violence and alleged extrajudicial killings.

That figure is a Nigerian government claim cited by AP, not an independent count by the news agency.

South Africa has every right to control immigration and enforce its laws.

But immigration enforcement and protection of public order are different from mob violence, vigilantism or abuse by state authorities.

Foreign nationals do not lose their basic legal protections because immigration has become politically contentious.

That distinction matters because hostility towards migrants can quickly move from legitimate debate over borders and public services into collective punishment of people based simply on nationality or foreign status.

The current dispute therefore creates a wider test for South Africa.

Can the state enforce immigration rules firmly while also demonstrating that foreigners are protected from violence, intimidation and unlawful treatment?

If not, the country risks losing control in a different way.

A state can enforce its borders firmly. But if immigration control becomes collective punishment of foreigners, it has lost control in a different way.

More to follow.

Source: Associated Press, 12 September 2026