ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria is formally escalating its complaint to the African Union (AU) regarding recent xenophobia and afrophobia protests in South Africa targeting undocumented immigrants. Moving beyond previous diplomatic warnings, the Tinubu administration has lodged a formal report, urging the continental body to intervene and address the safety of African nationals living in Pretoria.
According to Sophie Mokoena, a specialist correspondent for SABC News, this development represents a significant tactical shift. While Ghana and Nigeria previously signaled their intent to raise the issue, the Vice President of Nigeria formally presented the complaint during an extraordinary session of the African Union assembly in Angola. The core of Nigeria’s argument is that the South African government must take definitive action to curb xenophobic and afrophobic hostility.
However, this initiative faces stiff resistance. South Africa successfully pushed back during a recent summit of foreign affairs ministers at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, where an agreement was reached to exclude the topic from the official agenda. Furthermore, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with the South African President acting as chair, has rallied behind Pretoria. After the President briefed regional counterparts on the ground realities and South Africa’s official stance, the SADC summit collectively agreed to block the issue from the AU agenda.
Despite these regional hurdles, the Tinubu administration is strategically targeting the highest echelons of AU governance for the ordinary assembly of heads of state scheduled for February 2027. Beyond the political assembly, Nigerian officials are reportedly aiming to refer the situation to specialized AU mechanisms. This includes the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other frameworks like NEPAD, seeking institutional scrutiny of the events.
The path forward now hinges on the AU Commission Chair, who must provide direction on processing the complaint, effectively navigating around the prior ministerial agreement to sideline the topic. An intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying war is expected in the buildup to next year’s assembly. South Africa is actively campaigning among member states and regional blocs to reframe the narrative.
The fundamental divide lies in how the crisis is framed. Nigeria and Ghana characterize the unrest as targeted afrophobic and xenophobic violence specific to South Africa. Conversely, Pretoria insists the situation is a complex migration challenge shared by many nations. South Africa is pointing to a 2013 AU resolution that called for a special conference on migration, arguing that the continent must address the holistic push and pull factors of migration, rather than singling out one member state.
As both sides prepare for heavy lobbying, the international community will be watching closely to see whether the AU yields to the push for targeted action on xenophobia, or adopts South Africa’s broader framework for addressing continental migration.
