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JOHANNESBURG. – The Nigerian federal government could be asking South Africa to pay more than R5 million (about $414 469) in compensation to its nationals in the country following a spate of xenophobic attacks. This has emerged even as a South African government official told City Press the diplomatic spat between the two countries had ended and they considered the matter closed. But national president of the Nigerian Union SA (Nusa) Ike Anyene said the compensation matter would be raised at the next meeting of the SA-Nigeria Binational Commission, which is periodically convened by the deputy presidents of the two countries. The last meeting appeared to have been in 2012.
It is unclear when the next meeting will be.
“What our government wants to do is request from the South African government to compensate what the Nigerians lost. Some of these shops that were looted were not insured and cannot claim from insurance,” Anyene said. As far as has been established, Nigerians were not among those who died or were seriously injured in the xenophobic attacks. But there seems to be a disagreement between Nigerians about the claimed amount. Nusa, which is based in Johannesburg at the Nigerian Consulate, originally estimated the damage at R1,2 million, and later R4,6 million. – City Press.
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