RCCG begins repatriation of 500 Nigerians from S’Africa

One hundred Nigerians repatriated from South Africa through the humanitarian intervention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday night.

The returnees were the first batch of 500 Nigerians whose air transportation from Johannesburg to Lagos is being funded by the RCCG following an appeal from the Nigerian diplomatic mission in South Africa.

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, among other relevant agencies, received the returnees at the airport, after which profiling of the returnees commenced.

A NEMA official said the returnees would be transported to their respective state capitals after the profiling exercise had been completed.

Addressing journalists just before the arrival, the Chairman, RCCG Task Force for the Reception of Nigerian Returnees from South Africa, Pastor Belemina Obunge, said the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, approved the funding for the repatriation on humanitarian grounds.

Obunge said the returnees were Nigerians who had been profiled and documented by the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa and the South African Home Affairs authorities.

He said, “Moved by compassion for Nigerians who were required to return home from South Africa, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, approved the funding of the air transportation of 500 Nigerians from Johannesburg to Lagos.

“This first batch marks the commencement of that humanitarian intervention, with additional batches expected to follow.”

Obunge said the returnees were not selected based on their membership of the RCCG, stressing that Nigerians of different faiths were included.