By Our Reportet
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Ambassador Designate and member of Nigeria’s diplomatic delegation to recent bilateral talks with South Africa, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has disclosed key outcomes of the high-level engagement with Pretoria, declaring that the era of silence over the alleged persecution and killing of Nigerians in South Africa is over.
Fani-Kayode’s statement released on social media is widely seen as a strategic response to public calls for greater transparency over the outcome of the Nigeria-South Africa diplomatic meeting, as he moved beyond earlier photographs and protocol announcements to reveal the substance of the discussions and Nigeria’s firm position on the safety of its citizens.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode said he was deeply disturbed after watching what he described as a secretly recorded video showing a Nigerian national allegedly being tortured and beaten to death by members of the South African Police Service.
“I listened to the young man’s screams as they put a plastic bag over his head and tortured him and I was badly shaken,” he said.
The former Aviation minister condemned what he described as the persistent vilification, racial profiling, extra-judicial killings and persecution of Nigerians living in South Africa, insisting that such acts could no longer be ignored.
According to him, Nigeria’s delegation conveyed that position directly during its meeting with South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.
“Neither will we continue to be complicit in these crimes against our nationals by remaining silent in the face of them. That is the new order and I made my position clear on this at our meeting with the South African Foreign Minister yesterday. The hate needs to stop,” he stated.
Fani-Kayode maintained that Nigerian lives must be accorded equal value and dignity, rejecting what he described as a tendency by some Nigerians to downplay attacks against their compatriots abroad.
Describing himself as a “hardliner” on the issue, he cited figures indicating that at least 90 Nigerians had allegedly been killed by Afrophobic groups, violent mobs and South African police officers since 2022 without any successful prosecution.
He further alleged that six Nigerians had been killed in South Africa this year alone, three of them by police officers, adding that in one of the cases, the only suspect initially arrested had since been released and disappeared.
The former minister also referred to a recent incident in Cape Town in which a Nigerian was allegedly tortured to death by police in his home, while another was reportedly shot in the face with a rubber bullet after protesting the killing of his friend.
Despite the allegations, Fani-Kayode said both countries had agreed during the bilateral meeting to lower tensions, improve cooperation and strengthen diplomatic relations.
“We have made much progress and we had a productive meeting with the South Africans yesterday where we agreed to de-escalate the rhetoric and work closely together to stabilise the situation and build stronger bilateral ties.
“This is a step in the right direction and has brought us hope but much more needs to be done. Action speaks louder than words,” he said.
His latest remarks provide the first detailed public account of the issues discussed during the diplomatic engagement, highlighting Nigeria’s demand for greater protection of its citizens and accountability for attacks against them, while signalling a determination to preserve bilateral relations through concrete action rather than diplomatic exchanges alone.
