S’Africa attacks: Nigerians lose N21m, says envoy

Nigerian Consul-General in South Africa, Amb. Uche Ajulu-Okeke told the News Agency of Nigeria by phone from Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday that Nigerians lost more than N21m or 1.2m Rand in the on-going xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The loss included looted shops, burnt shops, two burnt mechanic workshops, 11 burnt cars and two stolen cars, among others.

She said that two of the three Nigerians who were wounded during the attacks in Durban had been treated and discharged from the hospital and that she would go back to Durban to assess the situation on ground and meet with the provincial authority on the security of Nigerians in that province.

According to her, The Nigerian mission in South Africa is on top of the situation. They are working hard to protect Nigerians in South Africa, it has assisted about 50 stranded Nigerians to re-settle.

She also visited the site of the attacks in Johannesburg to assess the damage and it was enormous. 

She said the Nigerian mission would meet with the Nigerian union chapters in the nine provinces of South Africa to devise means of checking further attacks.

“I am bringing all Nigerians together so that we work out a vigilance and alert mechanism; they will also tell me what their challenges and issues are,’’ she said.

Okeke said the mission and the Nigerian Union had been working together to meet the challenges caused by the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.