Iziegbe Ogbiede Calls on Nigerian Government to Place Travel Ban on South Africa Over Xenophobic Attacks 

On July 21, 2026, Nigerian content creator and social commentator Iziegbe Ogbiede called on the Nigerian government to place an immediate travel ban on South Africa. She also called for all South African businesses to be removed from Nigeria, in response to sustained xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in the country. 

In a video shared on her Facebook account on July 21, Iziegbe said,

“Nigerian government, we don’t have hope in you because of your perpetual failure and lack of care for the humans in Nigeria. What did South Africa do to us? We should have banned South Africa.”

Iziegbe’s call follows a wave of xenophobic violence against Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa that began in mid-2026. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, warned on July 6 that there were no signs that the situation is improving and announced additional evacuation flights after two Nigerians identified as Musa Yunana Joe and Charles Iroegbu were killed during anti-immigrant protests. 

The National Emergency Management Agency confirmed that a total of 1,516 Nigerians voluntarily returned home from South Africa between June 11 and July 15, 2026, evacuated in seven batches through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard Air Peace and South African Airways flights. 

The House of Representatives on July 21 resolved to investigate the human and economic losses suffered by Nigerians in repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa, following a motion sponsored by Babajimi Benson, who argued that Nigeria had never undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the casualties and economic damage suffered by its citizens despite nearly two decades of recurring attacks. 

Iziegbe stated that she held the Nigerian government responsible for failing to act swiftly enough. “There was no swift action; nothing was done. You people took it lightly,” she said. 

Comparing Ghana to Nigeria, she revealed how they moved quickly to evacuate their citizens, and argued that South Africa’s anti-Nigerian sentiment was partly emboldened by Nigeria’s pattern of absorbing attacks without proportionate diplomatic consequences.