Orders Boycott Of Legislative Events Over Xenophobic Attacks
The directive, issued by the Clerk to the National Assembly on behalf of Senate and House leadership, follows the killing of Ekiti-born Bishop Taiwo Fakunle in Johannesburg and mounting reports of violence against Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa.
ABUJA — The Atlantic Digest
Nigeria’s National Assembly has suspended all official visits to South Africa and directed lawmakers and staff to boycott any legislative activities hosted, organised, or co-sponsored by South African legislative authorities, citing continued attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants in the country.
The directive, announced Friday in a statement signed by Kamoru Ogunlana, Clerk to the National Assembly, on behalf of the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives, covers conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings and exchanges, whether in-person or virtual, and takes effect immediately, “until further notice.”
“The National Assembly has suspended all official visits to South Africa and ordered a boycott of legislative activities hosted or organised by the country until further notice,” the statement said. Ogunlana added that lawmakers were “deeply concerned by the continued violence, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of hostility directed at Nigerians and other African nationals living in South Africa.”
The decision follows the killing of Bishop Taiwo Michael Fakunle, 58, a clergyman from Ekiti State, who was shot dead at his Kensington residence in Johannesburg on Friday, September 6. According to the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa, two suspects forced their way into Fakunle’s home and opened fire, shooting him more than seven times. No arrests in connection with his killing had been publicly announced at the time of this report.
Fakunle’s death is the latest in a pattern of violence that Nigerian officials say has claimed at least 98 Nigerian lives in South Africa since 2022, through mob attacks, hate-related violence and extrajudicial killings, a toll cited by Nigeria’s diplomatic team as recently as July. In June, two Nigerians were reportedly killed just two days before an informal deadline, circulated in anti-migrant messaging, for foreigners to leave certain neighbourhoods. Nigerian community groups say hundreds of nationals have since been repatriated after being displaced or forced to abandon businesses, investments, homes and other property.
The National Assembly said the boycott follows “months of engaging the South African government to fish out the perpetrators” of the violence, without “meaningful action” being taken to identify or prosecute those responsible. Foreign ministers from both countries met in Abuja in July in an attempt to address the recurring attacks, but Friday’s statement suggests Nigerian lawmakers see that engagement as having produced little result on the ground.
South Africa’s government and parliament had not issued a public response to the boycott directive at the time of publication. The Atlantic Digest was unable to independently confirm which specific South African-hosted events, if any, Nigerian lawmakers were scheduled to attend in the coming weeks.
Periodic waves of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, including episodes in 2008, 2015 and 2019, have repeatedly strained relations with Nigeria and other African states whose nationals make up large diaspora communities there. Nigerian officials and civil society groups have for years called for stronger protection guarantees and faster prosecutions, with this week’s legislative boycott marking one of the more formal institutional responses from Abuja to date.
The National Assembly did not specify conditions under which the suspension might be lifted. The Atlantic Digest will continue to follow developments on this story, including any response from Pretoria and any further legislative or diplomatic action from Abuja.
