Nigeria echoes Ghana's condemnation of South Africa amid surge in anti-foreigner violence

Nigeria's government has taken a firm stance against the recent wave of attacks on foreigners in South Africa, summoning the country's top diplomat in Abuja to discuss the matter, according to the foreign ministry's statement on Saturday.

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South Africa, the most industrialized economy on the continent, has long been a magnet for African workers, both legal and undocumented, but its high unemployment rate of over 30 percent has sparked repeated outbreaks of xenophobic and anti-migrant protests, including the recent surge in violence.

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On Monday, South Africa's acting high commissioner in Abuja is scheduled to meet with Nigerian officials to address the "documented instances of mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and attacks on their businesses", as stated by foreign ministry spokesman Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa.

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This diplomatic move comes on the heels of a similar incident last week, in which Ghana's foreign ministry called in South Africa's acting high commissioner in Accra to discuss several "xenophobic incidents" targeting Ghanaians, including a disturbing incident in KwaZulu-Natal province.

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In that incident, a Ghanaian legal resident was reportedly confronted and told to leave South Africa and "fix his country", as cited by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who also warned of "escalating tensions" and advised foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, to stay indoors for their safety.

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According to statistics, there are over three million foreigners living in South Africa, accounting for 5.1 percent of the population, with more than 63 percent hailing from countries within the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.

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South Africa's acting police minister, Firoz Cachalia, has strongly condemned the anti-immigrant violence, deeming attacks on foreign nationals "unlawful" and a violation of the country's constitutional values of dignity and equality.

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Cachalia emphasized that "acts of xenophobia, violence, looting, or intimidation will not be tolerated under any circumstances", and instructed police to "act decisively and without hesitation" in addressing these incidents.