Human rights lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, has lashed out at telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria and media company MultiChoice Nigeria, for maintaining a deafening silence amid ongoing xenophobic attacks and killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Ejimakor questioned the moral stance of both companies, which he noted are South African-owned firms with extensive operations and profits in Nigeria.
“Why are MTNNG MultiChoice silent while Nigerians are being killed and forced out of South Africa?” he asked.
“Both are South African companies with massive presence in Nigeria, their largest market.
“How would they feel if they’re treated the same way by Nigerians?”
The lawyer noted that the continued silence of the corporations sends a troubling message about their priorities, suggesting that profit may outweigh concern for human lives.
“Their silence is not golden. It creates the impression that they value the trillions they’re making in Nigeria more than the lives of Nigerians living in South Africa,” Ejimakor said.
“And on a comparison, Nigeria benefits them far more than any benefit Nigerians can ever get in South Africa.”
He further called on Nigerians to publicly challenge the companies, insisting that sustained pressure could compel them to respond and potentially influence actions that may help protect Nigerians abroad.
Ejimakor’s remarks come amid recurring tensions and ongoing xenophobic attacks and killings by South Africans targeting foreign nationals, including Nigerians and other African migrants, in South Africa, incidents that have repeatedly sparked outrage and diplomatic concerns between both countries.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian Senate announced plans to collaborate with the House of Representatives to set up a joint parliamentary delegation to South Africa in response to the renewed xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians.
The move comes as Senate President Godswill Akpabio strongly condemned the incidents, describing them as “barbaric” and unacceptable, as well as criticising the perceived inaction of the South African authorities.
Akpabio disclosed the proposed diplomatic parliamentary intervention while reacting to growing concerns over the safety of Nigerians living in South Africa, stressing that both chambers of the National Assembly would collaborate on the mission.
“We will involve the House of Representatives and then we will have a joint team that will go to South Africa to meet with the Parliament of South Africa and for this, I don’t mind if the Senate President has to be there,” he said.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s responsibility to protect its citizens both at home and abroad, Akpabio said the legislature could not ignore repeated reports of violence against Nigerians in South Africa.
He further expressed deep frustration over what he described as the lack of decisive action from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government in addressing the recurring attacks.
“This is barbaric, this is crude, this is unheard of, this is stone age behaviour, and we are not seeing action from the government of South Africa that is the aspect that annoys me. We are not seeing action,” he said.
