The men of the Nigeria Police Force have taken over malls, housing Shoprite and other South African firms to prevent possible reprisals following xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens in South Africa.
The police were deployed to the Shoprite malls in Lagos, Ilorin, Uyo, Ibadan, Abuja and other major cities in Nigeria.
Some angry customers have since Tuesday been threatening to destroy the businesses belonging to South Africa in Nigeria.
The youths in their hundreds trooped out on Tuesday in Lagos, Abuja, Uyo and Ibadan to attack the offices of telecom giant, MTN, and Shoprite.
Before the deployment of security, the Shoprite supermarket in Lekki area of Lagos was hit by hoodlums, who wanted to loot, but were stopped by the timely arrival of the police.
The operations in the MTN offices in Ibadan and Uyo were temporarily halted, but the intervention of the police stalled the planned disruption of operations.
In its reaction, the Nigerian government warned that attacks on South African businesses will affect Nigeria and confirmed that the facilities in the malls and MTN offices belong to Nigerians.
The government said it had deployed special envoys to demand special compensation to citizens, who were victims of the attacks in South Africa.
Nigeria’s Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed advised Nigerians to stop attacking South African businesses, saying investors and workers in the companies are Nigerians.
He said that the government had already engaged the South African government to find a lasting solution to the attacks and killings in South Africa.
MM/GIK/APA