Onoh rejects S/Africa’s $18.5m repatriation bill, demands compensation

Former Southeast spokesman to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Denge Josef Onoh, has rejected South Africa’s demand for $18.5 million in repatriation costs for Nigerian nationals, describing the bill as an “illegal levy”.

Onoh, in a statement made available to journalists in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, said Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, could not be compelled to reimburse expenses incurred by the South African government over its immigration crackdown.

His reaction followed reports that South Africa had written to Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia seeking reimbursement for expenses incurred in accommodating, transporting and repatriating tens of thousands of foreign nationals amid a recent immigration crackdown and renewed anti-immigrant tensions.

By Segun Adewole

Full story at The Nigerian Guardian