As South Africans bay for more foreign and Nigerian blood in the latest wave of xenophobia to sweep through the former apartheid enclave, the federal government of Nigeria has pleaded with its countrymen in South Africa to shut down their businesses and remain indoors.

More shops belonging to Nigerians were looted on Thursday and a group of South Africans from Durban to Pretoria were still asking foreigners to leave their country.

“With the discussions I have been having with Nigeria’s Head of Mission in Pretoria, no Nigerian has so far been affected”, Nigeria’s Minister of foreign affairs, Aminu Wali told State House correspondents even though reports suggest that more than a dozen Nigerians may have been roasted or hacked down with machetes in the last week.

Wali added that:“They informed me that they have called members of the Nigerian community and addressed them and told them to close their shops, stay at home and keep out of trouble and obey the laws of South Africa.

“They have also confirmed that the South African authorities have moved in to take actions that would forestall any further disturbance in that country.”

Wali also assured that the federal government would not hesitate to evacuate all Nigerians living in South Africa if the situation got any worse.

“If it (the situation) gets worse, it is the duty of our country to make sure our people are brought back and we are taking that duty seriously. We are not prepared to allow any of our nationals to be subjected to such inhuman treatment.

“We are not being reactionary because this is happening to all foreigners, not Nigerians alone. We are monitoring the situation and will now take action according to the situation that develops.”