Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu has expressed dissatisfaction at the manner in which the South African authorities have handled the ongoing harassment and intimidation of Nigerians in the country.

Speaking to the press at the State House in Abuja on Monday, June 8, she rejected claims by South African authorities that the bulk of Nigerians affected are illegal migrants.

This is even as the government has launched a crisis response to evacuate Nigerians from South Africa after a wave of attacks and property looting that left them "imperiled" and “in distress.”

Asked whether those seeking repatriation were largely undocumented migrants as claimed by South African authorities, Ojukwu said: “To say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue.”

On the position of the Nigerian government, she said: “Nigeria is not happy because Nigeria has sacrificed much for the South African struggle for independence.

“Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds, committed resources to aid South Africa. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students. My own generation carried placards; we demonstrated in front of South African assets.

“Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. Nigeria is a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have been treated. They are not asking other migrants to leave; they’re only asking black migrants to leave.”

She also didn't rule out retaliation for these actions against Nigerians.

She said: “Well, that is a situation that we are considering. This is up to our legislature. This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table.”