Senate orders crackdown on bandits flaunting crime cash on TikTok

Abuja, FCT – By Prime Brief Media

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday resolved to dispatch a high-powered fact-finding delegation to South Africa and threatened targeted economic sanctions in response to the worsening wave of xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens. The decisions followed a heated plenary session during which lawmakers recounted harrowing testimonies of violence, looting, and deaths of Nigerians in the former apartheid nation.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who will lead the delegation, stated that Nigeria’s patience had run thin. “We cannot continue to fold our arms while our citizens are hunted and killed like animals. This delegation will convey, in the strongest terms, that Nigeria demands immediate and concrete action from Pretoria,” Akpabio declared. The mission is expected to depart Abuja later this week and will meet with South African parliamentarians, security officials, and Nigerian community leaders in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

In a significant escalation of diplomatic pressure, a majority of senators backed a motion calling for the Federal Government to consider sanctions against South African business interests operating in Nigeria should the attacks persist. Companies such as MTN, Shoprite, and Multichoice were explicitly mentioned during debate, though no final sanctions framework was adopted. The motion, sponsored by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, argued that “economic reciprocity” was a legitimate tool of foreign policy.

The Senate’s action comes two days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that at least two Nigerians had died in separate incidents involving South African security personnel, and that 130 nationals had registered for voluntary repatriation. Further anti-foreigner protests are scheduled in South Africa from 4–8 May, contributing to the urgency of the Senate’s intervention.

Opposition lawmakers praised the swift bipartisan stance but urged President Bola Tinubu to cut short his ongoing foreign trip to coordinate a whole-of-government response. “Presidential leadership is indispensable at this moment,” said Senate Minority Leader Senator Abba Moro.

The South African High Commission in Abuja has yet to issue a formal response to the Senate’s decisions.

Prime Brief Media is closely following political reactions and will provide updates as the situation evolves.

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