Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has declared a nationwide protest against South African interests, threatening to shut down the operations of MTN and MultiChoice while urging Nigerians to close their accounts with Stanbic IBTC Bank, in a dramatic escalation of the growing backlash over the recurring xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. The NANS President, whose name was not immediately disclosed in the initial reports, made the declaration on Friday, July 10, 2026, stating that the student body is prepared to mobilise students across the country to ensure the protest is carried out effectively.
“We are going to shut down MTN and MultiChoice. We will force Nigerians to close their accounts with Stanbic IBTC Bank,” the NANS President declared. He maintained that the planned action is a direct response to South Africa’s treatment of Nigeria and its nationals, and is aimed at putting pressure on South African-linked companies operating in Nigeria. The student leader insisted that the protest would be peaceful and that more details of the nationwide protest would be announced soon, while calling on students and members of the public to support the action.
The student body urged Nigerians to switch to local telecoms and banks, arguing that South African-owned enterprises should not continue to profit from Nigeria while Nigerians face violence and discrimination in South Africa. “We have Nigerian telecommunications that are doing well. We can invest in them. We are going to instruct our Aluta forces cut across the nation to begin to port from MTN to Nigerian-owned telecoms,” the NANS President said. He also urged Nigerians using MultiChoice services and those banking with Stanbic IBTC to consider switching to Nigerian-owned alternatives. “We are going to also sound a plenum of warning to those who are using MultiChoice products, who are patronising Stanbic, to begin to close down their accounts and start patronising Nigerian-owned banks,” he added.
The declaration is the sharpest turn yet in a standoff that has been building for months over the recurring xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa, which have reportedly claimed multiple lives, destroyed businesses, and left many Nigerians displaced. In May 2026, NANS South-West Zone D issued a similar warning, threatening to organise peaceful picketing and mass advocacy against South African business interests, singling out MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. At the time, the zonal coordinator stated: “It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere”.
In June 2026, NANS had already warned that Nigerian students were fully mobilised to shut down South African businesses operating on Nigerian soil if the killings did not stop. The association declared at an emergency press conference: “We are watching the countdown to the June 30 deadline, and we are sending a direct, loud message to Pretoria: nobody has the monopoly to violence”.
The students are not acting in isolation. The National Assembly has itself been drawn into the dispute. In July 2026, the Senate called on President Bola Tinubu to sever diplomatic ties with South Africa over the recurring attacks. Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North, had earlier gone further, proposing at plenary that the operating licences of firms such as MTN and MultiChoice be revoked, and even suggesting the nationalisation of MTN Nigeria alongside a thirty-day boycott of its services, invoking the principle of reciprocity in international relations.
Senator Abdul Ningi stressed that mere expressions of concern would not solve the problem: “Talking and lamenting will not help. Let us sever relations with South Africa. There must be action”. Senator Babangida Hussaini lamented that Nigerians are being vilified and killed not only in South Africa, stressing that Nigeria’s foreign policy should be strengthened to effectively address the situation. Other lawmakers, including Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, also condemned the persistent attacks on Nigerians and the destruction of their businesses in South Africa, urging the Federal Government to take decisive action. However, the Senate ultimately rejected the proposal to nationalise South African companies, following an appeal by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.
What gives the threat its weight, and also its complications, is the sheer scale of South African investment in Nigeria. MTN Nigeria remains the MTN Group’s largest and most profitable market, closing 2025 with a subscriber base of about 87.26 million, roughly 28 per cent of the group’s global total, and generating some 3.45 billion dollars in revenue for the year. MultiChoice, operator of the DStv and GOtv platforms, has for years counted Nigeria as its biggest market outside South Africa, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings, tied to South Africa’s Standard Bank, is a significant player in the Nigerian financial services space. Together these firms employ thousands of Nigerians and contribute meaningfully to tax revenue.
That interdependence has drawn caution from economists who warn that a broad shutdown could rebound on the very citizens it aims to protect, through job losses, service disruptions and weakened investor confidence, while exposing Nigerian businesses in South Africa to retaliation. The pattern is not new either. South African firms became proxy targets during earlier bouts of xenophobic violence in 2008, 2015 and 2019, each time weathering licence revocation calls that diplomacy ultimately defused. For now, the affected companies have kept their customary silence on the latest threat.
The latest NANS declaration comes amid heightened tensions between Nigeria and South Africa following the deaths of two Nigerian citizens on 28 June 2026. According to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emeka Charles Iroegbu was allegedly killed by officers of the Tshwane Metro Police in Sunnyside, Pretoria, during what the government described as “gruesome interrogation techniques”. On the same day, Musa Yunana Joe was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his shop in Witbank, Mpumalanga. The killings occurred amid rising xenophobic tensions and a surge in anti-immigrant sentiment that had escalated since April 2026, including a widely reported ultimatum issued by anti-migrant groups ordering foreign nationals to leave South Africa by 30 June 2026.
The South African government has formally rejected Nigeria's demand for compensation for affected citizens, instead demanding that Abuja produce evidence of criminal operations allegedly run by Nigerians within South Africa. The Nigerian government has condemned the attacks and warned that “all options remain on the table” if the violence persists.
As the Federal Government continues its evacuation exercise, with a fifth flight expected to depart South Africa on 10 July 2026, the NANS declaration adds a new dimension to the escalating row, raising the prospect of economic retaliation that could have far-reaching consequences for bilateral relations and the Nigerian economy.
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