By Son Tertsea, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu’s Government has joined the group of African countries in repatriating their nationals from South Africa following the surge in xenophobic attacks on foreigners.

The government yesterday took the bold decision aimed at bringing home the about 4,000 Nigerian nationals believed to be residing there.

Already, countries like Ghana and Mozambique have taken home some of their citizens from danger in the former apartheid nation, now tagged the Rainbow Nation, that is fast turning into a xenophobic enclave.

Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesman for the Federal ministry of foreign affairs, told the press that the Nigerian High Commission to South Africa had begun the screening of those to be evacuated from yesterday. According to him, the details of the evacuation flight will be published after the screening.

In his words: “We are projecting an estimate of two to four thousand.”

As the attacks become more severe, many foreignrrs now reportedly flee their homes, spending nights in the mountains and bushes.

There are reports spreading that anti-migrant groups in South Africa are firmly warning undocumented foreigners to leave the country by June 30 at the latest or face dire consequences.

Sources add that the anti-migrant mobs are reportedly chasing down foreign nationals “like dogs” and asking them to leave.

As anti foreigners’ campaign gets worse by the day, South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was yesterday reportedly telling President Ruto of Kenya about his plan to embark on a global damage control mission.

But it remains to be seen what the hatred against neighbours would amount to.

With the wave of attacks on fellow Africans pitching South Africa against other Africans, it is raising theories of Washington, Israel and the West being behind what some sources allege to be a well-calculated agenda to reclaim the nation from indigenous South Africans:

“Xenophobia in South Africa is not a random street problem. According to analysts and Pan-African voices who have been watching this game for years, it is an engineered crisis. Properly planned. Properly funded. And some of the white elite class inside South Africa already know the script — because they helped write it,” a source said.

By Felix Umande, Makurdi

The Presidency has announced significant progress toward establishing state police in Nigeria, with a constitutional amendment expected “shortly” after months of consultations among the Executive, National Assembly, and security authorities.

Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents after a consultative meeting on state policing convened by the Presidency at the State House, Abuja.

Gbajabiamila said deliberations began three to four months ago on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, and the process has now “gained considerable traction.” He stressed that creating state police requires careful handling of constitutional and legal issues and cannot be done hastily.

“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President. Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction,” he said.

“Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.”

According to the Chief of Staff, discussions have advanced to drafting the necessary constitutional amendments, with enabling legislation to follow.

“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter. That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours,” Gbajabiamila added.

He noted that national debate has shifted from whether state police should exist to how the appropriate legal and institutional framework will operate. President Tinubu, a long-time advocate of decentralised policing, will receive a comprehensive report on the meeting’s outcome.

The Presidency said state police is being pursued as a necessary response to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges. A decentralised structure, it argued, would strengthen grassroots security, improve local intelligence gathering, and boost sub-national capacity to address emerging threats.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, and other senior officials.

The consultative session is part of ongoing federal government engagements aimed at developing a workable framework for state police to enhance internal security and protection of lives and property across the country.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

In its 2026 Global Rights Index unveiled by the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, Nigeria has been placed among the 10 most anti workers’ rights countries in the world

The document posts a negative view of the state of labour rights in the country, citing attacks on trade union independence, arbitrary arrests, intimidation of workers, and widespread union-busting practices by both government authorities and employers.

The yearly ITUC Global Rights Index examines about 150 countries based on their respect for workers’ fundamental rights, including the freedom to organise, engage in collective bargaining, strike, and freedom of speech..

The 2026 findings represent the worst conditions recorded since the index was established.

Nigeria’s poor ranking was attributed partly to the Edo State episode where the organized labour has been deeply trapped in an orchestrated prolonged leadership brawl.

The ITUC reported that the situation deteriorated sharply in December 2024 when the Edo State Government allegedly occupied the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Secretariat in Benin City with the assistance of police officers and hired thugs.

The building was reportedly locked, while an alternative leadership was imposed in place of the duly elected state NLC chairman.

The crisis deepened in August 2025 when the Edo State House of Assembly passed a motion urging the NLC to halt plans to inaugurate a caretaker committee for the state council despite lacking constitutional authority over the union. When NLC officials arrived in Benin City to conduct the inauguration, they reportedly found the secretariat still under lock and key and surrounded by security personnel and suspected political loyalists.

The report said the labour leaders were chased across the city and forced to inaugurate the caretaker committee at a secret location to avoid violence. The NLC secretariat, the report noted, remains under occupation, with the recognised leadership denied access.

The ITUC document further revealed widespread anti union actions and threats by employers across Nigeria.

For instance, MTN Nigeria is accused of denying certain categories of workers the right to join the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PTECSSAN, the union of their choice.

The report similarly says that Daewoo Nigeria had prevented workers from joining their preferred union in violation of Nigerian labour laws.

The Dangote Refinery, the global labour body highlights how workers were compelled to join a management-backed union, while some employees were dismissed for affiliating with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG. The company is equally accused of establishing so-called “yellow unions” to weaken genuine collective bargaining.

The ITUC showed me encroaching on workers’ rights in Nigeria as the reflection of a broader global trend, with democratic freedoms for workers being undermined across many countries.

It called on governments and employers to uphold international labour standards and protect the rights of workers to organise freely without fear of intimidation, discrimination or reprisals.