Sue South Africa for xenophobic victims’s compensation, Falana tells FG

…Wants Nigeria to boycott economic forum in South
Africa

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Wednesday, asked
the Federal Government to sue the South Africa Government to demand
compensation for Nigerian victims of the xenophobic attack in the
foreign country.

The senior lawyer, who is the National Chairman of Peoples
Alternative Front, wants the South African government sued in the
courts of the country which owed its liberation from apartheid rule
to the supports of Nigeria and many other African nations.

He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to boycott the World
Economic Forum scheduled to commence in South Africa on September
4, insisting that the southern African country’s ruling “African
National Congress must accept responsibility for the misdirected
antagonism against poor African immigrants”.

Falana, said in a statement that it was not enough for the South
African government to condemn “the shameful and cowardly attacks”
and urged Nigeria to demand the President Cyril Ramaphosa
administration to fish out and prosecute the perpetrators of the
attacks

He asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government
to demand compensation for the Nigerian victims from the South
African Government, but quickly added that the foreign government
“is not likely to accede to the demand for compensation”.

He said, “Apart from the official condemnation of the shameful
and cowardly attacks the South African Government should fish out
the culprits and prosecute them.

“In addition to the payment of adequate compensation to all the
victims of the mindless attacks, the Government must teach South
Africans about the immense contributions of the people of Cuba and
a number of African countries to the struggle waged against
apartheid and colonialism in the Southern African region.

“However, since the Cyril Ramaphosa administration is not likely
to accede to the demand for compensation the federal government
should brief a team of lawyers to seek legal redress for the
victims of the attacks in South African courts.

“The Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria should be directed to
coordinate the legal defence.”

He added that in view of the incessant harassment of Nigerians
and citizens of other African countries in South Africa, the
Federal Government should boycott the World Economic Forum
scheduled to take place in the country, make the “Declaration” to
enable Nigerian victims of human rights abuses to access the
African human rights court in Arusha Tanzania.

“In view of the regular harassment of Nigerians in South Africa
and a few other African countries the federal government should
make the Declaration to enable individual victims of human rights
abuse to access the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights
sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. Since there is no assurance that
Nigerians and other Africans will no longer be subjected to
xenophobic attacks the federal government should boycott the World
Economic Forum scheduled to commence in South Africa on September
4,” he stated.