Fani-Kayode Demands Justice for Nigerians Killed in SA

Femi Fani-Kayode, the Nigerian High Commissioner-designate to South Africa, has called for urgent action from the South African Government to protect Nigerian nationals and ensure justice for the recent killings of Bishop Michael Taiwo Fakunle and James Uchechukwu Nwankwo in Johannesburg. Fani-Kayode expressed his shock and mortification over the incidents, noting that Fakunle was shot dead at his home on September 4, and Nwankwo died on September 5 after alleged brutal interrogation by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

These deaths mark the seventh and eighth Nigerians murdered in South Africa this year, with four cases involving SAPS officers. Fani-Kayode reported that over 100 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa since 2022, with more than 30 deaths attributed to SAPS and the South African Defence Force.

He criticized the lack of arrests or prosecutions despite ongoing complaints from Nigerian authorities and condemned a deadline issued to African nationals to leave South Africa by September 30, labeling it as racist and xenophobic.