FG demands answers after South African Police operation leads to death of Ibeh Chika Simon
A Nigerian national has died and another was shot after a South African Police Service (SAPS) operation in Cape Town, prompting Nigeria’s government to demand a full investigation and reigniting tensions over the treatment of African migrants in South Africa.
The Nigerian Consulate General in Johannesburg says the incident occurred on July 23 during a police operation at the Parksig Villas Complex in Bellville. The consulate identified the deceased as Ibeh Chika Simon, though the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA) has referred to the same man as Chika Ibe, said to be from Lokpaukwu, Abia State. A second Nigerian, Egwabor Patrick Chuks, was shot during the operation and remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Video of the aftermath circulated widely over the weekend, showing a body on the ground surrounded by onlookers, the body being wrapped and taken away by ambulance, and a crowd confronting officers at the scene.
In a statement issued Saturday, Consul-General Ninikanwa Okey-Uche said the mission was “deeply appalled” by the tactics that led to the death and called for an immediate, transparent investigation, with those responsible held accountable. The statement said no alleged offense justifies what it called execution-style enforcement, and that suspects are entitled to due process under South African law.
NICASA president Rev. Frank Onyekwelu gave a more graphic account, saying the man died after being beaten, tortured and suffocated during the operation. SAPS has told local media a different version: that officers were searching the property over suspected drug activity when the man became unresponsive while they were still on site, at which point emergency services were called and the case was referred to South Africa’s Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), as required by law whenever a death follows police action.
IPID has confirmed it is investigating. Officials say the probe will weigh witness accounts, video footage, forensic evidence and post-mortem results before determining whether officers acted unlawfully.
The death brings Nigeria’s officially confirmed toll in South Africa to five this year, according to the consulate, though it noted that some repatriated citizens allege the real number is higher.
The case follows a wave of anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa this year. In late June, two more Nigerians — businessman Musa Yunana Joe and Emeka Charles Iroegbu — were killed in separate incidents, prompting similar demands for investigation. An AFP tally in mid-July put the number of migrants who had fled South Africa in recent weeks at nearly 150,000. Earlier this month, Nigeria’s and Ghana’s foreign ministers jointly called for “Afrophobia” to be placed on the agenda of the next African Union summit, arguing the violence has specifically targeted Black African migrants.
IPID’s findings are expected to determine the official account of what happened to Simon/Ibe. Until then, the circumstances of his death remain contested.
