The President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NCAS), Frank Onyewekelu, has confirmed that at least 20 Nigerians were killed extrajudicially in South Africa in 2024, either by security operatives or by citizens of their host country.

Onyewekelu, who revealed this in an interview with journalists in Lagos on Friday, said an estimated 116 Nigerians had been killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means over the past two years, with the majority of the killings carried out by the South African Police.

The NCAA President who spoke specifically on the recent murder of a 32-year-old Nigerian, Julius Chukwunta, who was brutally murdered by four individuals in Johannesburg on December 7th, lamented that it was unfortunate that most of the victims were killed by security agencies, which he said, was particularly concerning given the lack of accountability and transparency in the cases.

Onyewekelu emphasised that even if anyone commits a crime, they should be put on trial and face the consequences, rather than being subjected to extrajudicial killings.

“The unfortunate incident that led to the death of Julius Chukwunta which happened on December 7, 2024, is not an isolated incident, as the Nigerian government has previously condemned the killing of Nigerians in South Africa,” he said.

‘Based on the information we received from his partner, he was coming back from work with his partner. They already drove inside the complex when some guys blocked the entrance.

“According to his partner, Chukwunta was attacked and killed after some individuals blocked the entrance to his complex.

“He told them to move their vehicle so that he could have access to the parking lot. They refused, and that led to an exchange of words. When he saw that they remained adamant, he walked towards the estate security post to lodge a complaint.

“As he walked in that direction, the four guys followed him. They stopped him and a fight started. The four guys pounced on him. They inflicted heavy injuries on him.

“When his partner, who was waiting in the car for him, did not see him, she walked towards the security post and saw him on the ground, bleeding. She started calling for help but nobody came.

“This was for almost an hour, according to her. When there was no help from passersby, she called her father on the phone. Her father came to the scene of the incident. That was how they rushed Mr Chukuwnta to the general hospital on Saturday. He died on Tuesday which was December 10.

“They hit a brick on his head. This opened a big wound on his skull. As a result of this, he succumbed to death.”

The NCAA President noted that three of the four assailants that killed Chukwunta were originally from Zimbabwe although they have South Africa’s residence permits and identity documents and regretted that though they were charged for murder, three of the accused persons were granted bail.

“If I have to be specific with you, between November last year and December this year, we have had between 15 and 20 Nigerians who have died under this similar kind of death that could have been avoided,” Onyewekelu said.

“Let me mention just a few. Last week, a young Nigerian man was buried in Cape Town. He was arrested by the police authorities. He died in the holding cell due to the injuries inflicted on him by the police. Earlier this year in May, I drove to Northern Cape, another province in South Africa, which required a six-hour drive to report a case to the commissioner of police.

“The case was about police officers who searched his house and suffocated him while trying to search his house. He died in the hands of the police.

“There was an autopsy report and they refused to give it to us. Another Nigerian died in Johannesburg in the hands of the police. I was there at the scene of the incident and at the police station where he died. Nigerians came out en masse to protest.

“We have tried to reach out to the government through the Nigeria’s High Commission but they have not done enough. I understand the diplomatic ties and procedures. But, I’m expecting more steps to be taken by them such as media briefings to let South Africans understand that our lives matter.

“A person is considered innocent until proven guilty. When they arrest anybody, we are not stopping them from letting the person face the wrath of the law if found guilty. But we are against letting Nigerians die through intimidation and brutalisation in the name of hatred against Nigerians. Many Nigerians have died and their bodies repatriated without their families knowing the cause of their deaths.

“This is why our government needs to come to our rescue. We want the Nigerian government to address this with the South African authorities.

“The Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should understand that we are not just making up these stories. There is evidence. There are cases with the police and the courts lying there without being attended to and with no legal representation to fight for justice.

“In South Africa, there is a kind of general hate for foreign nationals whether Africans or Westerners by South Africans, but Nigerians are on top of the list. I may not be able to explain what led to the hatred but the allegation that Nigerians are taking up their jobs is false.

“Well, in terms of marriage, when love happens, love happens. Nigerian men are lovable and caring. They know how to take good care of women. That is the reason I think South African women prefer Nigerian men to their men.

“But when it comes to jobs, that’s not true. I can tell you that 90 per cent of Nigerian men in South Africa are self-employed. They build their companies, develop their businesses, and grow their careers.

‘They also employ some of these South Africans to work with them. You can only count a few Nigerians who work for the government or industries. Nigerians are mostly into business; they are medical professionals, lawyers, and others. Some are students, and others are involved in carpentry and hair styling. They open their shops.

“Statistics have proven that the percentage of South Africans in employment is higher than the percentage of foreign nationals put together. But still, you will hear complaints that they are taking their jobs. This rumour has been carried by South Africans who probably are lazy or trying to put up a defence or an excuse for their loitering around and not being serious about getting something to do.

“Our position is that somebody doesn’t have to die because he committed a crime. If there is a crime committed and the person is found guilty, we are not excusing anybody because in some of our programmes we also educate the Nigerian community on the rule of law.”

A citizen of Niger Republic has slammed the country’s military leader, President Abdourahmane Tchiani, for neglecting critical issues facing the country and resorting to spreading what he termed as baseless rumours and accusations against Nigeria and other countries.

The Nigerien citizen who was reacting to allegations raised by President Tchiani’s in an interview with the the country’s state media, Radio-Télévision du Niger where he accused Nigeria of conniving with France to destabilise Niger Republic, said Tchiani neglected his country’s pressing challenges and rather chose to engage in irrelevant things.

In a video posted on X on Friday, the angry Nigerien highlighted the setbacks in the country emanating resulting from the coup led by Tchiani against former President Mohamed Bazoum, which he said had plunged the country into deeper socio-economic, political and insecurity crises.

He noted that President Tchiani’s claims of recruiting 25,000 soldiers and purchasing weapons worth $150 million were false and mere grandstanding.

The citizen also alleged that many of the vehicles and resources claimed by the current government were procured previously by the ally of the President.

He emphasized that Niger Republic has been ruined by the “16 generals” who have failed to stabilize the country and are instead leading it on a drowning train, while President Tchiani is busy “creating enemies both regionally and internationally, sowing seeds of hate and bad blood with Niger’s neighbors and distant nations.”

Addressing the President directly, the citizen urged him to seek verified information rather than relying on false intelligence being fed by advisors with selfish motives.

He also criticized the Tchani’s repeated accusations against France, Nigeria, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which he described as baseless rhetoric.

“You have been in power for 17 months, confined to the villa, and fed with fake information that has clouded your sense of reasoning,” the embittered citizen said.

“When it was announced that you are going to address the nation on December 25, 2024, in Hausa, Zabarma and French, what was being rumored was that there is nothing new that will come from your public address except the normal rhetoric of calling out France, CEDEO, Nigeria and the rest of them as our problem.

“Mr President, some of them even gambled; some offered to give goat, some said they will give some money if you did not mentioned France in your public statement.

“Nigerienes said they are fed up with the same statement coming from you without any progress. What is very annoying is that you proved them right. Some of them had to go and start counting how many times you mentioned France, how many times you mentioned Nigeria, how many times you mentioned CEDAO and saying they are already making efforts to attack our country, Niger.

“You have accused so many countries both within and outside Africa. Some had already concluded that there was a need to reevaluate your psychological endowment.

“You have failed in diplomacy. You insulted many countries and their leaders including those who are very far away from us from different countries. You mentioned at least 20 countries that you accused of sabotaging Niger through France. Some of them we don’t even have any relationship with them.

“You have failed to address the living conditions of Nigeriens, particularly the shortages of fuel and other essential commodities. Contractors have been diverting fuel to other countries, while you accuse these same nations of sabotage.

“The real issues affecting Nigeriens, such as economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment, fuel scarcity and the high cost of living, were ignored,” he said. “Instead, we heard the same rhetoric of external threats and baseless claims of terrorist camps being supervised by the French.”