His Excellency, the Consul General of Nigeria to South Africa, Mr. Andrew N. Idi, on Wednesday, 14th December 2022, in Kempton Park, met with the Executive Director of Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID), Dikeledi Jennifer Ntlatsend, and Major Gen. Sithole, the Commander, South Africa Police Service (SAPS), Ekurheleni. The meeting was on how to find a lasting solution to curb the spate of recent attacks on Nigerians in Benoni.

On Wednesday, 9th of November 2022, taxi drivers in Benoni started abducting Nigerians on the streets and from their shops for torture at the Benoni Central Business District, Taxi Rank. The victims were whipped, with sjamboks, and machetes in front of the Police Station, leaving them with serious bodily injuries.

Based on the demand of the Consul General and the Consular Team, the Police disclosed that the issue between the Nigerian Community in Benoni and the Taxi Drivers was occasioned by alleged reports of the involvement of Nigerians in the sale of stolen goods.

Mr. Ignatius Duru, a Nigerian business owner, was attacked, on the 19th of November 2022, at his shop. His attackers took from him 40 cellphones, twenty wristwatches, and a sum of R35,000, after which he was brutalized and the CCTV camera destroyed.

On the 1st of December 2022, a second case occurred when Mr. Samuel Onyedikachi Eziukwu was brutalized by Taxi Drivers at the Benoni Taxi Rank, near the Police Station. 

At the Police Station, a group of agitated Nigerians met the Consular Team who had responded to a distress call by Nigerians in Benoni. The gathered Nigerians claimed that Taxi Drivers tied Mr. Eziukwu to a moving vehicle and dragged him around the area before sjambok-whipping him at their Taxi Rank.

On the demand of the Nigerian Consular Team, the Police proceeded to the Taxi Rank, where Mr. Eziukwu got rescued and taken to the station. 

The Consular General Urged IPID to assist in averting the imminent spate of attacks on Nigerians, in Benoni, by launching a full investigation into the matter. The Consul General, in addition, requested IPID should request the Police at Benoni CBD to provide security for the lives and property of Nigerians in the area.

The meeting ended with a joint resolution to meet with Taxi Drivers on Monday, 21st of December 2022.

Nigerian Union, Gauteng Chapter, calls on Nigerian citizens in Gauteng to be law-abiding. They must respect the laws of the land and go about their business honestly and transparently.