Nigeria has dramatically tightened its stance towards South Africa, with the National Assembly suspending official visits and boycotting South African-hosted legislative activities amid renewed allegations of xenophobic violence against Nigerians.
The move came on the same day South Africa extradited six Nigerian nationals to the United States, where they face federal charges linked to an alleged Black Axe romance-scam network that prosecutors say targeted more than 100 women and caused losses of more than $6.2 million – roughly R100 million at current exchange rates.
The two developments are separate cases and should not be conflated – but together they highlight the increasingly complicated relationship between the two African economic powers, with questions around crime, migration, xenophobia and the treatment of Nigerians in South Africa again dominating headlines.
Nigeria says enough is enough
On Friday, September 11, Nigeria’s National Assembly announced that all official visits to South Africa had been suspended until further notice.
The boycott extends beyond physical travel. Nigerian lawmakers, committees, officials and staff have also been directed not to participate in conferences, seminars, workshops, parliamentary meetings, legislative exchanges or other programmes organised or hosted by South African legislative authorities.
The restriction also covers virtual and online engagements.
The decision was communicated by National Assembly Clerk Kamoru Ogunlana following consultations between the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The National Assembly said it was particularly concerned by reports of Nigerians being “killed, injured, displaced and forced to abandon their businesses, investments, homes and other properties” because of recurring attacks.
It also criticised what it described as the continued failure to adequately address the violence despite repeated appeals to South African authorities.
House spokesman Akin Rotimi said the National Assembly “cannot ignore persistent attacks on citizens abroad”, while Ogunlana said the institution was concerned about the “safety, dignity and welfare” of Nigerians.
The lawmakers have called on South Africa to investigate reported attacks, arrest suspected perpetrators and prosecute those found responsible.
The six men being sent to America
Against this tense diplomatic backdrop, South Africa on September 11 handed six Nigerian nationals over to US authorities for extradition.
The six are:
- Perry Osagiede
- Franklyn Edosa Osagiede
- Osariemen Eric Clement
- Collins Owhofasa Otughwor
- Musa Mudashiru
- Prince Ibeabuchi Mark
The names have been independently verified against US Department of Justice records and South African court documents.
What are they accused of?
According to Reuters, the six are suspected by South African police of being members of the Black Axe organised crime network and are wanted in the United States on charges including wire fraud and money laundering.
South Africa’s elite Hawks unit said the alleged romance scams targeted more than 100 women in the United States and resulted in losses of more than R100 million – approximately $6.2 million.
The alleged victims included pensioners and businesspeople.
The suspects were arrested in South Africa in 2021 and were handed over to US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service officials at Cape Town International Airport on Friday.
The men remain accused persons in the US proceedings. The allegations have not been tested in a US trial and they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The aliases allegedly used in the scams
US court documents provide another extraordinary layer to the case.
Perry Osagiede is identified in the indictment by aliases including “Lord Sutan Abubakar de 1st”, “Rob Nicolella” and “Alan Salomon”.
Franklyn Edosa Osagiede is listed under aliases including “Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela”, “Edosa Franklyn Osagiede”, “Dave Hewitt” and “Bruce Dupont”.
Osariemen Eric Clement is listed as “Lord Adekunle Ajasi” and “Aiden Wilson”.
Collins Owhofasa Otughwor is listed as “Lord Jesse Makoko” and “Philip Coughlan”.
Musa Mudashiru is listed as “Lord Oba Akenzua”.
These names appear in US court records and should not be confused with the men’s legal names.
The US indictment alleges that members of the Cape Town zone used fake identities and online relationships as part of a wider fraud operation.
The romance-scam operation
The allegations date back years.
According to US prosecutors, the Cape Town-based defendants were involved in a wider internet-fraud operation that included romance scams and advance-fee schemes.
The alleged method involved establishing relationships with women online, presenting themselves under false identities and eventually manipulating victims into sending money.
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority previously said the accused were charged with wire-fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
In 2022, the US Secret Service awarded Cape Town prosecutor Advocate Robin Lewis for his work on the case.
The NPA said at the time that the suspects were accused of defrauding women of almost $7 million by pretending to be wealthy men based in America.
Black Axe and the Cape Town connection
The case centres on the Cape Town zone of the organisation commonly known as Black Axe.
US authorities have described the group as the Neo Black Movement of Africa, which developed from a student fraternity in Nigeria in the late 1970s and, according to prosecutors, evolved into a structured international criminal organisation involved in financial and cybercrime.
US prosecutors alleged that several of the defendants held leadership positions within the Cape Town zone.
Court documents have previously identified Osagiede as a leader associated with the Cape Town zone, while other accused men were described as members of its leadership structure.
Five years later, the case moves to America
The arrests happened in 2021.
Five years later, the six men have left South Africa and are now being transferred into the US justice system to face the allegations contained in the American case.
Reuters reported that the extradition was carried out with the involvement of the FBI and US Secret Service.
The case is also part of a wider international crackdown. Reuters reported that suspected Black Axe members have recently been arrested in countries including Switzerland and Spain.
But Nigeria’s anger is about something else
The extradition case is not evidence that Nigerians as a whole are responsible for crime in South Africa, and Nigeria’s parliamentary decision was not announced as a response to the six suspects.
The timing, however, is striking.
Nigeria is simultaneously demanding greater protection for its citizens in South Africa while South African authorities are handing over Nigerian suspects accused of serious international financial crimes.
That distinction matters.
Nigeria’s National Assembly is specifically protesting attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants, while the South African criminal case concerns individuals accused of specific crimes.
The Nigerian parliament itself stressed that its decision was not intended to destroy the countries’ longstanding diplomatic relationship.
Instead, it said parliamentary cooperation must be based on mutual respect, safety and the protection of lawful enterprise.
The wider diplomatic fallout
The parliamentary freeze follows months of deteriorating relations.
Nigerian officials have repeatedly demanded action over attacks against their citizens. In July, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye said official records showed that 98 Nigerians had died in mob and hate-related incidents in South Africa since 2022.
Nigeria has also evacuated citizens from South Africa during the latest wave of violence.
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the attacks, while South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has maintained that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has condemned xenophobia and that South Africa has the right to deal with undocumented migration and criminality through the law.
There has also been a broader backlash against South Africa, including calls for boycotts of South African cultural events and pressure over planned visits.
A separate report in August said Tinubu declined to meet directly with a South African delegation sent to Abuja to address the diplomatic tensions, instead leaving the engagement to Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs.
That is different from saying Nigeria cancelled a bilateral meeting altogether: the reported development was that Tinubu declined the meeting with the delegation, while diplomatic talks subsequently continued at ministerial level.
South Africa now faces two very different conversations
The Black Axe extradition places South Africa at the centre of an international law-enforcement success involving an alleged transnational fraud network.
At the same time, the xenophobia crisis has placed the country under increasing diplomatic pressure from Nigeria and other African governments.
For South Africa, the challenge is therefore twofold – demonstrate that criminal suspects, regardless of nationality, will be pursued through the justice system, while also convincing African neighbours that Nigerians and other foreign nationals living legally in the country can live and conduct business without fear of mob violence.
For Nigeria, the message from parliament is equally clear: crime allegations against individual Nigerians will be dealt with through the courts, but attacks against Nigerians collectively cannot be treated as an acceptable response to crime or migration.
The six men will now face the American justice system. And as that case moves forward, the much larger Nigeria-South Africa relationship remains under pressure.
