About 397 Nigerians are currently being profiled for voluntary return from South Africa as xenophobic tensions and anti-foreigner protests intensify across the country. The screening exercise began Thursday and is scheduled to end Sunday, according to community leaders.

Reverend Frank Onyekwelu, President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, said over 600 citizens applied to go home for various reasons. After verification, 397 were cleared for the first evacuation flight pending final arrangements with Nigerian diplomatic missions and the Federal Government.

The process is being supervised jointly by the South African Police Service, Department of Home Affairs, and Department of International Relations and Cooperation. Onyekwelu explained that the checks are to confirm immigration status and ensure returnees have no pending criminal cases.

He added that many applicants lost jobs or had expired permits, making them undocumented migrants. The date for the first flight is yet to be fixed as the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg and High Commission in Pretoria work with Abuja to finalize logistics.

The move follows weeks of anti-foreigner demonstrations in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where Nigerians were among those targeted. Some municipalities have set up screening centers to verify documents of foreign nationals.

Sources: Punch news, Reuters.