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South Africa: 10 Nigerians Nabbed for Killing South African
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This Day (Lagos)
2 June 2008
Posted to the web 2 June 2008
Paul Ohia With Agency Report
Lagos
Ten Nigerians were arrested in Philippi, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, weekend for allegedly stabbing a man repeatedly in what appears to have been a revenge attack after a raid on a house.
This development is coming at the time of a state visit to South Africa by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua today.
The Independent Online quoted a police source as saying the attack took place after a group of men tried to break down the door to a house where three Nigerian men and a woman were staying.
"They were demanding that the Nigerians leave the area," the police source said.
The Nigerians, fearing for their lives, phoned their friends and as the locals left more Nigerians arrived.
They chased and caught one of the local men and stabbed him several times. He died on the scene and 10 of the Nigerians were arrested. They are expected to appear in court this week.
Yar' Adua's visit comes amid attempts by Nigeria to seek compensation for victims of anti-immigrant violence.
"The president will leave Abuja on Monday (today) and return on Thursday, for a visit aimed at forging closer ties between Africa's most populous country and its biggest economy," presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi told AFP.
The visit has been overshadowed by widespread xenophobic attacks that have targeted Nigerians among other foreigners living in South Africa.
Yar'Adua has said dialogue, and not retaliation, is the way to resolve the anti-foreigner sentiment that has affected scores of Nigerian residents living in Johannesburg.
Although no Nigerian has been reported among the 62 killed in the violence, many of them have lost their property or had their shops looted.
Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe said last week that a list of those affected had been compiled with a view to pursuing compensation claims with the South African government.
Yar'Adua begins his official programme tomorrow with a welcome ceremony by his South Africa counterpart Thabo Mbeki. The two leaders are expected to sign bilateral agreements before an official banquet.
On Wednesday, Yar'Adua and Mbeki will participate in a Nigeria business forum, whereafter the Nigerian leader will address the World Economic Forum on Africa being held in Cape Town.
Having just marked his first year as president of Africa's most populous country, Yar'Adua said in a live television interview that problems such as xenophobia needed to be resolved "through dialogue".
"I am going to South Africa next week on a state visit. Nigeria is playing a very critical and important role on the African continent ... so the issue of retaliation does not arise," he said.
More than 60 people have been killed and tens of thousands of foreigners left homeless, mainly around Johannesburg, following two weeks of attacks which later spread to most parts of South Africa.
Many South African firms and investors are operating in Nigeria, Africa's biggest market with 140 million people.
Prominent among them is MTN, a digital mobile firm with over 30 million subscribers.
Last week, South African deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was in Nigeria to attend a three-day meeting of the Nigeria/South Africa bi-national commission.
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The commission was set up to foster stronger economic ties between the two African giants.
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