Nigerian community in South Africa calls for protection after reports of renewed 'xenophobic' violence in Pretoria West
A Nigerian
migrant comes under attack outside a church in Pretoria on Saturday [James
Oatway/Reuters]
Members of Nigeria's community in
South
Africa have raised concerns over renewed anti-immigrant violence, appealing
to authorities to intervene before the situation gets out of control.
Nigeria's presidency on Monday called the South
African government to step in to stop what it said were "
xenophobic
attacks" following recent reports of violence against Nigerians and
other nationals in the capital, Pretoria.
The Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA) on Tuesday
confirmed that Nigerian homes and businesses in Pretoria West had been attacked
in several late-night incidents in recent days.
"Homes and shops of Nigerians were targeted
and looted in the events of past few days," Emeka Ezinteje Collins,
national public relations officer of NUSA, told Al Jazeera, citing at least 10
such attacks.
He added: "Our people and other foreigners
are apparently living in fear of the unknown as the hoodlums have promised"
more attacks from Friday, when a group called the "Mamelodi concerned
residents" is reportedly planning to hold a march against foreign
nationals.
NUSA also said that some of its members had
received threatening phone calls asking for payment to protect their houses and
businesses.
"We have also received reports from our
members of receiving threatening anonymous calls requesting that money be paid
to avert destruction of their properties," Collins said.
"We implore the South African and Nigerian authorities
to intervene early and save the situation before it spills out of hand."
'Angry residents'
South African police said on Tuesday at least 20
shops possibly belonging to immigrants were looted in Pretoria overnight, but
they could not confirm if the attacks had deliberately targeted foreigners.
"There are allegations that these shops
belong to foreign nationals," police spokeswoman Brigadier Mathapelo
Peters told the Reuters news agency.
"It is alleged that the community members
are saying that these shops were used for drug dealing, but that is
unconfirmed. We will only be able to start a formal investigation once the shop
owners come forward."
Anti-immigrant
violence has flared sporadically in South Africa against a
background of near-record unemployment, with foreigners being accused of taking
jobs from locals and getting involved in crime.
"We are sick and tired of foreigners who are
coming to sell drugs and kill our people, we can't let the community go down
like this," an unemployed man in his mid-twenties, who declined to be
named, told Reuters.
The attacks in Pretoria West come a few weeks
after residents in Rosetenville, a suburb in Johannesburg, reportedly
torched properties belonging to Nigerians and other foreigners which allegedly
were being used for drug dealing and human trafficking.
"The Rosetenville unrest is replicating in
Pretoria West," the African Diaspora Forum said in a statement last week.
"Those who are living in the area are
advised to be careful. Cars and houses are set alight by angry residents
claiming to get rid of drugs and prostitution. No one has been arrested after
two houses were set alight, various homes raided by Pretoria West community
members."
'Dire consequences'
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Nigerian president's
adviser on foreign affairs and the diaspora, said on Monday the South African
government must take "decisive and definitive measures to protect
Nigerians and other African nationals" within its borders.
She also called on the
African Union to weigh in on the violence, adding:
"Further attacks without any reprimand may have dire consequences".
Dabiri-Erewa said there was a need for the
continental body to "intervene urgently", claiming that in the last
two years "about 116" Nigerians had been killed, including 20 last
year.
"This is unacceptable to the people and
government of
Nigeria."
There was no independent verification of the
claimed number of deaths.
According to NUSA, there are about 800,000
Nigerians in South Africa, many of them living in Johannesburg.
The community was hit badly by the
wave of xenophobic violence that hit the country in April
2015, but South African police said only seven Nigerians died.
An independent watchdog has said 640 people died
from police brutality or in custody in South Africa.
In April 2015, Nigeria recalled its top diplomat
in South Africa to discuss the anti-immigrant attacks that sent hundreds of
foreigners fleeing to
safety camps, as authorities sent in soldiers to quell
unrest in Johannesburg and Durban.
Source: Al Jazeera and news
agencies