The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has stepped in with a major humanitarian intervention, funding the air transportation of 500 distressed Nigerians from South Africa back to Nigeria following a renewed wave of xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks targeting African migrants.
Under the leadership of its General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the Church donated $265,854 specifically to purchase one-way air tickets for the repatriation exercise.
The Federal Government formally acknowledged and thanked the RCCG for the gesture in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in early September 2026.
The first batch of approximately 100 to 107 returnees, sponsored under the RCCG initiative, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on the night of Thursday, September 24, 2026, aboard a flight from Johannesburg.
A second batch of 105 Nigerians — comprising 55 adults, 45 children and five infants — landed safely in Lagos around Friday, October 3, 2026. This brings the total number of citizens repatriated with RCCG funding to about 205, with additional batches expected to complete the 500-person target once documentation and clearance by South African authorities are finalised.
Pastor Belemina Obunge, Special Adviser to the General Overseer on Special Duties and Chairman of the RCCG Task Force for the Reception of Nigerian Returnees from South Africa, explained that Pastor Adeboye approved the intervention on humanitarian grounds after appeals from the Nigerian diplomatic mission in South Africa.
“Moved by compassion for Nigerians who were required to return home from South Africa, the General Overseer approved the funding of the air transportation of 500 Nigerians from Johannesburg to Lagos,” Obunge said. He clarified that the church’s role covers the cost of flights, while government agencies handle reception, profiling, counselling and onward transportation of the returnees to their home states.
Officials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other relevant bodies have been receiving the returnees at the airport.
The broader Nigerian government-led evacuation programme began on June 10, 2026, in response to escalating attacks and hostility against foreigners in South Africa. By early October, more than 1,800 Nigerians had been brought home in total, with the Federal Government fully sponsoring the majority and philanthropic contributions, including RCCG’s, covering others.
Pastor Adeboye publicly welcomed the first group of returnees, posting a message of gratitude and prayer for their safe reunification with their families. The RCCG continues to coordinate with Nigerian diplomats in Pretoria and Johannesburg to process remaining applicants.
The intervention has been widely described as a significant demonstration of faith-based solidarity with Nigerians facing insecurity and hardship abroad.
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