Trending 
The second batch of Nigerians repatriated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Wednesday, as the Nigerian Government continues its repatriation exercise following recent xenophobic attacks in the country.
The 66 returnees landed at about 8:50 p.m. under the evacuation programme approved by President Bola Tinubu.
The latest group arrived nearly two weeks after the first batch of 258 evacuees returned to Nigeria aboard a chartered Air Peace flight on June 11.
Speaking at the airport, Dipo Onabowale, Head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) office in Lagos, said the evacuation was facilitated by Kunle Soname, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ValueJet, while officials of the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa accompanied the returnees.
Representing NiDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Onabowale commended President Tinubu for authorising the evacuation and said challenges encountered during the first phase of the exercise were being addressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had assured that all registered Nigerians willing to return home would be evacuated.
NiDCOM also announced support packages for the returnees. According to the commission, indigenes of Imo State among the evacuees will receive N1 million each from Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The commission said MTN Nigeria provided free SIM cards, data worth N50,000 and credited N100,000 into the bank accounts of each returnee. Founder of Harvesters International Christian Centre, Bolaji Idowu, also donated N100,000 to each evacuee.
The returnees expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for approving the evacuation and facilitating their safe return to Nigeria.
They also appreciated Soname, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, NiDCOM Chairman Dabiri-Erewa, and other individuals and organisations that supported the exercise.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and other agencies were on ground at the airport to receive and document the evacuees.
