Nigeria says it will seek compensation from South Africa for its citizens who have left the country following recent protests targeting undocumented migrants.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa told the BBC that the issue would be discussed between the two governments “at the highest levels”.

Acting High Commissioner to South Africa Alexander Ajayi said on local television on Tuesday that the government had begun documenting businesses and properties left behind by Nigerians.

Some anti-migrant groups had given undocumented foreigners a deadline of 30 June to leave the country and organised marches attended by thousands of people on Tuesday. These were largely peaceful but there were isolated incidents of violence against foreigners.

The South African police say that about 900 people were arrested, mostly for immigration-related offences and looting.

The BBC has asked South Africa’s government for comment on Nigeria’s compensation demand.

Nigeria’s acting high commissioner said he had asked all of those who had left South Africa “to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, movable and immovable properties”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Ebienfa told the BBC that all claims would be verified before any formal request was made

“We have not severed ties with South Africa, we are still engaging them at the highest level, we will sort those details using our usual diplomatic channels,” he said.

Wilson, the trader, said he had run a clothing business in the South African city of Centurion in Gauteng province for several years.

But he said he had now closed his shop and fled to stay near the Nigeria High Commission in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria.

Scheduled to leave on the next repatriation flight to Nigeria on Friday, he estimates the goods left in his shop are worth more than 16,000 rand ($975; £735).

Wilson said his residency documents had expired in 2021 and he had been unable to renew them.

He said he was not very hopeful about the prospect of getting compensation.

“If South Africa government can compensate it, it will be nice, but I know they won’t,” he said.

(BBC)

In a 927-page disclosure, he reported $635m in royalties from a Trump meme coin that has plunged in value since he launched it days before taking office.

He also reported over $500m in income from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by his own sons and the children of his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

He earned millions more from real estate and Trump-themed items. But the White House denied he was profiting from the presidency.

The earnings from his latest financial disclosure far outpace the previous ones for 2024, when Trump disclosed over $600m in income.

But the White House, which has repeatedly emphasised that Trump has placed his business in a trust managed by his sons, again denied any conflict of interest.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the president had proudly made the US “the crypto capital of the world”.

“Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged – or will ever engage – in conflicts of interest,” she said in a statement.

The former property tycoon fled China to the US in 2017, where he reinvented himself as a Communist Party critic and built a loyal online following.

But Guo was later convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

New York court judge Analisa Torres said Guo had “preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China”, taking their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

The BBC has contacted Guo’s representatives for comment.

Guo – who goes by several names, including Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok – was sentenced in a courtroom packed with his supporters.

US attorney Sean S Buckley told the BBC: “Rather than being satisfied with the many legitimate opportunities afforded to him, Guo exploited the trust that thousands had placed in him for his own greed.”

“Today’s sentence shows that fame and wealth do not place you above the law, and that fraudsters who victimise families to enrich themselves will be met with significant consequences,” Buckley said.