BREAKING NEWS: South Africa apologizes to Nigeria over deportation row
Thursday, March 08, 2012Omoba
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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