The Federal Government has condemned the renewed killings of Nigerians in South Africa, describing the incidents as a possible deliberate pattern of extrajudicial violence by elements of the country’s security agencies.
The latest victim, Odueze Chimezie Odueze, was allegedly tortured to death by personnel of the South African Police Service, SAPS, on Friday, October 9, 2026, at his residence in the Parklands area of Cape Town.
Odueze was reportedly arrested at a shopping centre on suspicion of possessing drugs. The police subsequently took him to his residence to conduct a search, but no drugs or other prohibited items were allegedly found.
Despite this, the officers allegedly subjected him to severe torture, which resulted in his death.
The incident came barely a week after two African nationals, one reportedly a Nigerian, were allegedly killed on the streets of Johannesburg.
Reacting to the incidents, Nigeria’s Consul-General in South Africa, Ambassador Ninikanwa O. Okey-Uche, in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, expressed concern over the recurring killings, saying they had raised serious questions about the safety of Nigerians and other African nationals in the country.
She said the growing pattern of alleged extrajudicial killings was becoming increasingly troubling.
“The continuing pattern of extra-judicial killings of Nigerians is daily becoming more and more like a deliberate attempt by some elements in disregard to due processes of the South African laws,” she said.
The Nigerian government called on South African authorities to conduct thorough investigations into the killings and ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
Okey-Uche stressed that allegations of criminal conduct against any individual must be handled through established legal procedures rather than violence or extrajudicial punishment.
“All should be granted fair hearing in a court of law and no one should take the laws into their hands,” she said.
While urging South African authorities to ensure the prosecution of those found culpable, the consul-general appealed to Nigerians in the country to remain calm, law-abiding and security-conscious amid reported xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks and threats against foreign nationals.
She assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would continue to press for the protection of their lives and rights, stressing that the safety of Nigerians remained a priority, particularly in South Africa.
