South Africa has turned down a formal request from Nigeria to compensate citizens who abandoned homes and businesses while fleeing xenophobic violence, according to a report by Guardian Nigeria. Nigeria's mission in South Africa had compiled records of properties and businesses left behind by returnees as the basis for the compensation request, work Abuja pointed to as documented evidence of the losses affected Nigerians suffered.
South Africa's Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, rejected the request at a press briefing, saying the government would not compensate anyone for property left behind. She argued that legally acquired property is registered with the relevant authorities and can simply be sold through South Africa's normal property market, while structures built in informal settlements are considered illegal and were never recognized as legitimate property in the first place, meaning no compensation claim could attach to them.
South African officials went further, saying they would welcome information from Nigeria on the location of what they described as Nigerian-run drug dens, framing the request as part of a broader law-enforcement push rather than addressing the compensation question directly. The exchange adds another point of friction to a relationship already under strain over the safety of Nigerian nationals in South Africa and the recurring cycles of xenophobic violence targeting them.