Naledi Pandor, South African minister of foreign affairs, says there are many Nigerians in the country involved in drug and human trafficking.
Pandor said this on Thursday while responding to criticisms that South Africa’s security agencies are not doing enough to protect foreigners in the wave of xenophobia rocking the country.
Many Nigerians based in South Africa lost properties worth millions of dollars in the fresh attacks.
But in a recent interview, Pandor said South Africans believe many Nigerians are “harming our young people.”
The xenophobic attacks forced Nigeria to pull out of the ongoing World Economic Forum in South Africa.
In its initial response to the fresh attacks, the federal government summoned Bobby Monroe, South Africa’s high commissioner to Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari also dispatched a special envoy to convey his concerns over the attacks to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Nigeria demanded full compensation for its citizens affected in the latest attacks, but Pandor had earlier said there is no provision for such.
