Alarm Phone, une organisation qui fournit un soutien indépendant aux personnes tentant de traverser la mer Méditerranée pour rejoindre l’Union européenne, a salué SOS Humanity pour avoir secouru 65 personnes retrouvées en détresse en Méditerranée centrale.

Dans une publication sur X, Alarm Phone a indiqué avoir été alertée par les 65 personnes alors qu’elles se trouvaient en difficulté en mer. L’organisation a ensuite prévenu les autorités ainsi que les organisations civiles de recherche et de sauvetage, mais c’est la flotte civile qui est intervenue pour répondre à l’urgence.

« Sauvées ! », a déclaré Alarm Phone, remerciant SOS Humanity d’avoir répondu à l’appel de détresse et mené l’opération de sauvetage.

Cette opération intervient après un précédent article de Voice for African Migrants rapportant que le navire de recherche et de sauvetage Humanity 1 de SOS Humanity avait secouru 65 personnes, dont 10 mineurs et quatre femmes, après les avoir retrouvées en détresse à la suite d’une traversée depuis la Libye.

Selon SOS Humanity, le sauvetage a été effectué mercredi après-midi, après que le groupe aurait passé trois jours exposé au large et à une chaleur extrême.

L’équipage du Humanity 1 a indiqué que la situation de détresse avait été signalée par Alarm Phone, tandis que l’avion de reconnaissance Albatross Uno avait également contribué à localiser les personnes ayant besoin d’assistance.

Les survivants auraient été retrouvés épuisés et déshydratés avant d’être embarqués à bord du Humanity 1, où ils ont reçu des soins médicaux d’urgence.

SOS Humanity a critiqué les politiques migratoires européennes, accusant les gouvernements européens d’abandonner les personnes en détresse alors que les organisations civiles de recherche et de sauvetage font l’objet d’une surveillance et de critiques politiques croissantes.

L’organisation a déclaré que ce sauvetage démontrait l’importance des opérations civiles de recherche et de sauvetage en Méditerranée. Elle a réaffirmé son engagement à secourir les personnes en détresse, à documenter leurs expériences et à assurer une protection aux personnes qui en ont besoin.

Alarm Phone appelle régulièrement à une meilleure protection des personnes tentant de traverser la Méditerranée ainsi qu’à la mise en place d’un système européen efficace de recherche et de sauvetage afin de prévenir les décès en mer.

Despite renewed concerns over xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African migrants in South Africa, the country’s Consul-General in Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, says visa applications by Nigerians have almost doubled in recent months.

Moroe made the claim during an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Sunday, saying the reported increase demonstrated that South Africa remained an attractive destination for Nigerians despite concerns over the safety of foreigners.

However, the envoy did not provide statistical data or figures to substantiate the claim.

Moroe also dismissed reports that South African missions in Nigeria had stopped issuing visas to Nigerians, describing the reports as false.

“I just want to give reassurance that South Africa is open for business, South Africa is open for tourism, and South Africa is open for any other form of visit. And it is also untrue to suggest that South African missions in Nigeria do not offer visas to Nigerians anymore,” he said.

“But I can assure you and the listeners, that it is safe to travel to South Africa. I indicated during the beginning of the show that the number of visa applications have almost doubled,” he added.

His comments came amid renewed concerns over xenophobic attacks in parts of South Africa, particularly Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, where Nigerians and other African migrants have faced attacks, intimidation and displacement.

Xenophobic violence in the country has often been fuelled by allegations that foreign nationals are taking jobs from South Africans and claims linking migrants to criminal activities. Incidents have included attacks on migrants, looting of foreign-owned businesses and forced displacement.

The situation has also raised concerns in Nigeria, with the Federal Government previously facilitating the evacuation of more than 1,400 Nigerians who were stranded or feared for their safety in South Africa.

Despite the concerns, Moroe said Nigerians continued to view South Africa as a viable destination for tourism, business and other forms of travel.

The Consul-General urged Nigerians intending to visit the country to obtain the appropriate visas before travelling and comply with South African immigration laws.

“It is everybody’s responsibility to ensure that before you travel, you ensure that you have your visa, you comply with the immigration laws of the country, you become a good ambassador of your country,” he said.

Moroe further advised Nigerian visitors to familiarise themselves with South African laws and understand their rights, while also identifying the locations of law enforcement agencies in case of emergencies.

“When you get to South Africa, you know and understand your rights, but you must also familiarise yourself with the laws of the country,” he said.

“You choose places that you want to visit… and ensure that you also are familiar with the location of law enforcement agencies, just in case something happens,” he added.

The envoy expressed confidence that travel and people-to-people exchanges between Nigeria and South Africa would continue to grow, stressing the importance of maintaining strong bilateral relations between the two countries.

Germany deported at least 137 Nigerians between February and June 2026 in five charter-flight operations, highlighting the growing role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, in Europe’s increasingly coordinated crackdown on migrants.

More Nigerians risk being deported in days ahead as German authorities had reportedly said it was bent on deporting 30, 000 of the citizens.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported that a Security Adviser to the President of Germany, Dr Jan Hecker, had on May 15, 2018 told the Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Germany had proposed a new process that would facilitate the smooth repatriation of over 30,000 illegal Nigerian migrants.

The Nigerians so far deported were returned to Lagos in successive operations involving German authorities and, in some cases, other European countries and Frontex, according to records compiled by Refugees4Refugees, a Germany-based migration advocacy organisation that monitors deportation arrivals in Nigeria.

The organisation documented the return of 27 Nigerians in February, 37 in March, 24 in April, 23 in May and 26 in June.

The February operation involved 27 people believed to be Nigerian nationals who were flown from Stuttgart to Lagos aboard a World2Fly charter aircraft.

A larger operation followed on March 10, when a charter flight carrying 50 deportees landed in Lagos after a joint European operation hosted by Germany and involving Spain, Austria and Belgium. Germany accounted for 37 of those returned, according to Refugees4Refugees.

The operation illustrates how deportations are increasingly moving beyond individual national governments to become coordinated European exercises, with Frontex providing support to member states in organising and implementing returns.

On April 9, another 24 Nigerians were deported aboard a charter aircraft from Frankfurt in an operation involving German authorities and Frontex. Further returns involving 23 Nigerians in May and 26 in June brought the number documented in the five operations to at least 137.

The figure does not represent Germany’s total deportations to Nigeria during the year and should not be regarded as a complete official count of Nigerians removed from the country.

Frontex at the centre of Europe’s return strategy

The deportations come as European governments strengthen cooperation on migration enforcement, including the use of Frontex to support return operations.

Frontex has increasingly become involved not only in securing the European Union’s external borders but also in coordinating and supporting the return of people who have no legal right to remain in member states.

The agency’s expanding role reflects a broader shift in European migration policy, in which border control, asylum enforcement and deportation are becoming more closely linked.

The trend is particularly notable because irregular migration into the European Union has been falling. Frontex reported that irregular border crossings into the bloc declined by nearly 40 percent during the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Despite the decline, European governments continue to push for faster asylum procedures and more efficient returns of people whose applications have been rejected or who otherwise lose their legal right to remain.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has made reducing irregular migration and increasing returns a key part of its immigration agenda under Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Federal Police figures showed 20,625 unauthorised entries across Germany’s land, air and sea borders between January and May 2026. Monthly detections also fell from 5,801 in May 2025 to 3,761 in May 2026.

The figures indicate that Berlin is intensifying enforcement even as irregular arrivals decline.

Nigeria drawn into Europe’s coordinated return system

The repeated flights to Lagos also demonstrate how Europe’s migration enforcement increasingly extends beyond its borders.

The March operation, which brought together deportees from Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium, is an example of how several European countries can pool resources for a single return operation.

Frontex’s involvement gives such operations a broader European dimension, allowing member states to cooperate on the logistical and operational aspects of returning migrants.

For countries such as Nigeria, the development means that migration enforcement is no longer confined to European territory. Cooperation with African governments is becoming an increasingly important component of Europe’s strategy to prevent irregular migration and facilitate the return of people whose asylum claims fail or who no longer have permission to remain.

Nigeria’s large population and diaspora, as well as its longstanding migration links with Europe, make it an important partner in the EU’s return framework.

The five documented flights therefore provide a glimpse into a wider policy shift: as Europe tightens migration controls, Frontex is playing an increasingly visible role in supporting coordinated returns, while African countries are becoming central to efforts to ensure that migrants who lose the right to remain in Europe can be sent back.

The 137 Nigerians documented by Refugees4Refugees represent only a fraction of European returns, but the operations demonstrate how the continent’s migration clampdown is increasingly organised across national borders and extended beyond Europe through cooperation with countries of origin.