Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has urged the Federal Government to take sweeping economic action against South African businesses operating in Nigeria.

This followed the recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

To this end, the former Governor of Edo State advocated for the revocation of the licenses of MTN Nigeria and DStv, especially calling on Nigerians investors to fill the void.

Raising the issue during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole argued that Nigeria must move beyond diplomatic protests and adopt a policy rooted in reciprocity.

“I don’t want this Senate to be shedding tears, to sympathise with those who have died. We didn’t come here to share tears.”

“If you hit me, I’ll hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It’s an economic struggle.

“This Senate should adopt a position that MTN, a South African company that is cutting away millions of dollars from Nigeria every day. That Nigeria nationalise it and withdraw its licence.

“I call on the Federal Government to revoke DSTV, which is also a South African company that is cutting away millions of dollars,” he said.

The lawmaker further argued that Nigerians living in South Africa were economically productive and not dependent on the host country.

“These Nigerians who are in South Africa, they are not there on holiday. They are there to work and to earn.

“When we hit back, the president of South Africa will go on his knees to recognise that Nigerians cannot be intimidated,” he said.

He said continued tolerance in the face of repeated violence against Nigerians abroad sends the wrong signal.

According to him, decisive economic retaliation would demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity to defend its citizens and interests.

Oshiomhole linked the resurgence of xenophobic violence to domestic political tensions in South Africa.

He noted that anti-immigrant rhetoric has increasingly shaped public attitudes toward foreigners, including Nigerians.

The intervention came as the House of Representatives condemned the latest attacks, warning that the safety of Nigerians abroad must not be compromised.

Lawmakers urged the Federal Government to step up diplomatic engagement and implement protective measures.

Also contributing, Victor Umeh described the situation as dire, saying many Nigerians in South Africa now live in constant fear and are unable to move freely.

He called on the African Union to intervene, including the possibility of sanctions if the attacks persist.

Umeh stressed that the pattern of violence should no longer be treated as isolated incidents.

Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

In a rare moves, West African Lawmakers have registered dismay over violent attacks against their citizens living in South Africa prompting an urgent investigation and recommendations.

It could be recalled that the last few weeks have witnessed grave attacks on Africans mostly Nigerians and Ghanaians living in South fueled by anti migrant movements and sentiments such as Operation Dudula.

In a touching presentation titled:

“West African lives, dignity, and the imperative of integration: accountability, justice and free movement, and regional security,” Hon. George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and Leader of the Ghanaian Delegation said:

“The xenophobic violence engulfing South Africa – Across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Cape Town, and Pretoria, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Ethiopians, and other African nationals have been attacked, looted, displaced, and killed.”

He noted that the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg confirmed the deaths of two citizens — Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew.

He reported that an Ethiopian national was shot dead at a busy intersection, and the killing was captured on CCTV.

Hon. George pointed out that:

“Ghanaian shops have been shuttered under threat. Vigilante groups have stopped people outside hospitals and schools to demand documents. Footage of foreign nationals being beaten and subjected to verbal assault has circulated on every screen across this continent.”

He explained that Ghana’s Foreign Minister, the Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, summoned South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner in Accra over a documented incident in which a Ghanaian legal resident was confronted and told — to leave and ‘fix his country.’

Hon. George said:

“Nigeria similarly summoned South Africa’s envoy in Abuja. The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission declared on the twenty-ninth of April that the situation is deteriorating and earlier engagements have not yielded calm. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has formally deplored the attacks. And on the first of May, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema asked his own compatriots: after beating Nigerians and Ghanaians, how many jobs have you created?”

Hon. George called on the Speaker and Community Parliamentarians to address directly the intervention of President Cyril Ramaphosa in his keynote address at the 2026 Freedom Day National Celebrations in Bloemfontein on the twenty-seventh of April.

“This Parliament acknowledges that President Ramaphosa spoke. He said — and I quote the official record of the Presidency — ‘We must not allow these concerns to give rise to xenophobia, directed towards people from other African countries or any other parts of the world. Instead, we must insist that the law be upheld and enforced.”

He referenced the South African President’s comments in which he said that “We will not allow people to take the law into their own hands.”

“And he affirmed: ‘It cannot be, and it must never be, that we trample into the dust the African fellowship that made our freedom possible.”

Hon. George said that they take President Ramaphosa at his word but expressed reservations on the rhetorical framing.

“But it is precisely because we take him at his word that I say, through this forum and for the record: words delivered from a ceremonial platform do not arrest a single perpetrator,” Hon. George emphasized.

“Condemnations, however eloquent, do not bring a single attacker before a magistrate.

Calls to uphold the law ring hollow when the perpetrators of mob violence, arson, looting, assault, and murder walk free — their faces visible in videos that every African has seen.”

Hon. George recalled that on the same Freedom Day speech, President Ramaphosa described African nationals as “guests whose welcome is conditional on respect for South African laws”.

“That framing — however unintentionally — provides militant groups with a grammar of conditional hospitality that they have readily translated into a licence for violence.

A government cannot simultaneously condemn mob justice and deploy the language that mobs use to justify their actions.

My personal statement to this House, Mr Speaker, is this: South Africa must move from speeches to action.

The South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate must investigate every documented incident.

Social media has provided an abundance of documentation.

The perpetrators  many of whose faces are known  must be identified, arrested, charged, and prosecuted to conviction, without fear or favour, without selectivity, and without impunity. Not some of them. All of them.

Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has announced a major overhaul of the Nigeria Police Force’s anti-crime architecture with the scrapping of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units and the introduction of a new outfit, the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU).

The restructuring comes amid rising concerns over accountability within the Force, following public outrage over a viral video showing an officer, identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police Nuhu Usman, shooting a handcuffed man at close range after allegedly discovering a suspicious package.

In response to the incident, four police officers led by ASP Usman were dismissed from service, while their case files have been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for prosecution.

Speaking during a meeting with senior officers in Abuja on Tuesday, Disu said the newly created VCRU would replace SWAT and operate under stricter oversight, with a strong emphasis on professionalism and accountability.

“Critically, civilian oversight has been built into the operational framework of the VCRU from the very beginning. These units will operate strictly on the basis of credible intelligence, and their operations will be subject to structured review,” Disu said.

According to him, officers of the VCRU will receive specialised training in tactical operations, intelligence gathering, human rights compliance, and rules of engagement, while Commissioners of Police will retain full operational control of the unit in their respective states.

He also directed that the rollout of the unit be carried out with public visibility and stakeholder participation.

As part of broader reforms, the police chief also ordered an immediate nationwide audit of arms and ammunition across all state commands, describing the move as a critical step toward strengthening internal accountability and preventing misuse of weapons.

“I hereby direct all Commissioners of Police to immediately undertake a comprehensive audit of arms and ammunition within their respective Commands. This exercise must be thorough, transparent, and properly documented, with detailed reports forwarded to the Force Headquarters within the stipulated timeframe,” he said.

He stressed that the audit was not routine but a key intervention to improve operational efficiency and oversight.

Condemning the killing captured in the viral video, Disu described the act as unlawful and a gross violation of professional standards, vowing that justice would be pursued.

“That act was wrong. It was unlawful. It violated the sanctity of human life and the professional standards of this Force,” he said.

“This matter will not be swept aside. Accountability will be pursued to its full and logical conclusion.”