Adeboye Welcomes 105 Nigerians Repatriated From South Africa

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has welcomed 105 Nigerians recently repatriated from South Africa under the church’s humanitarian intervention.

Adeboye, in a post on X on Friday, said the Nigerians had safely returned home and thanked God for making their journey possible.

The returnees formed the first batch of 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.

PUNCH had reported that 107 Nigerians arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday night. The returnees are part of at least 500 Nigerians expected to be repatriated under the intervention.

Adeboye said the church would continue to pray for the returnees while government agencies complete the necessary processes to reunite them with their families.

The Chairman of the RCCG Task Force for the Reception of Nigerian Returnees from South Africa, Pastor Belemina Obunge, said Adeboye approved the funding for the air transportation on humanitarian grounds.

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

He stressed that the returnees were not selected based on their membership of the RCCG, adding that Muslims, Christians and Nigerians of other faiths were included in the exercise.

The RCCG is funding the air transportation from Johannesburg to Lagos, while government agencies are responsible for receiving the returnees and coordinating their onward movement to their respective states.

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

Obunge said the repatriation would continue in batches because of documentation and clearance procedures in South Africa. He also urged Nigerians still stranded there to approach the Nigerian diplomatic mission for assistance with their documentation.