By Pascal Ibe 

Introduction

The fourth batch of Nigerians evacuated from South Africa landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, last Thursday aboard an Air Peace flight.

The returnees, comprising 272 adults and 12 infants, arrived as part of the Federal Government’s ongoing voluntary evacuation exercise amid escalating xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant protests in South Africa.

The first arrival of the returnees in June marks one of Africa’s largest coordinated repatriation exercises in recent years following renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The latest violence erupted in April with videos circulated online showing groups of South Africans assaulting Black foreign nationals and ordering them to leave the country, reviving concerns over recurring attacks that have strained diplomatic relations across the continent.

The unrest prompted Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to advise their citizens to avoid non-essential travel to South Africa, while several governments initiated evacuation programmes for nationals wishing to return home.

Many of the Nigerians who returned from South Africa expressed frustration that they came back empty-handed.

Claim

Social media users recently posted a graphic containing a comment mocking Nigerian returnees from South Africa, and it was attributed to Nigeria’s First Lady, Remi Tinubu.

In a post on the X platform, a user,  @Dee_9889 (BLESSED),  shared a graphic containing the comment, which was attributed to the First Lady.

The comment reads, “They Went With Resources to South Africa, Thinking They’d Come Back Big, but Came Back Empty-Tinubu”

The X user expressed disappointment over the alleged comment According to the X user, “Mocking your own citizen is the height of it.”

The post with over 38k views and hundreds of reposts, has sparked wide criticism of Tinubu by many X users, who believed that the comment emanated from her.

See reactions to the post here and here.

Another user on X and Facebook,  posted the image here and here.

Verification

First, there is no credible news website or organisation in Nigeria that reported or confirmed the comment to have come from the First Lady, as of Tuesday 14 July 2026.

Also, no video evidence supports the claim that the comment came from her.

For weeks now,  Tinubu has been a subject of discussion on Nigeria’s social media space after she expressed her intention to financially support small businesses in Nigeria, such as the selling of roasted corn, bean ball(Akara), and others.

In June, the First Lady suggested that women could be empowered through government grants to start businesses such as frying akara, roasting corn and processing kuli-kuli.

The remark drew criticism from Nigerians, who said the suggestion trivialised the struggles of Nigerian women.

While making a clarification on 11 July, she said petty traders, including pepper and vegetable sellers, deserved support.

 Tinubu turned her appeal to Nigeria’s entertainment industry, urging young stars to establish charitable foundations for the poor.

“I want to appeal to our young ones in the entertainment industry. I have mentioned it before, and I will use Akon, a music icon who does a lot of great charity work.

“They make the Burna Boys of this world, the Asakes, all of them, Davido, we want to see you with one foundation or the other, helping the poor with your money,” she said.

She said luxury cars were not a problem, but entertainers should also give back.

“Good cars are good, a Maybach is good, a Rolls-Royce is good, but still, you can help,” she said.

Tinubu listed pepper, vegetable, okra and melon sellers, alongside akara and kuli-kuli traders, as beneficiaries of her empowerment scheme.

“The burden on the government is huge. You can still help. There are pepper sellers, there are vegetable sellers, there are okra sellers, melon sellers, akara sellers. Akara is delicious, I can tell you that,” she said.

Further search showed that the most recent public comment by the First Lady was on Monday when she stated that “ the Federal Government will ensure the national school feeding programme is properly established before the end of President Bola Tinubu’s tenure, describing investment in children as essential to Nigeria’s future.”

Verdict

From all findings, the comment mocking Nigerians who recently returned from South Africa, which was attributed to Remi Tinubu, could not be found or confirmed by reputable news organisations or sources at the moment.

Therefore, the claim is UNPROVEN.