A 36-year-old Nigerian tomato trader has been killed in Pretoria, South Africa by unknown assailants. Confirming the incident, Mr Habib Salihu, Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Union in South Africa (NUSA) said the victim, James Ekeh, an indigene of Imo, was shot several times by unknown gunmen at Mabopane Station near Pretoria.“Since Ebuka (another victim) was killed in Rustenburg more than two months ago without any arrest or prosecution, no fewer than six Nigerians have been brutally murdered,” said Salihu.
“These killings came without any meaningful intervention to bring the perpetrators to book irrespective of their nationality. Four other Nigerians were also shot dead in Johannesburg area less than two months ago. This means that an average of one Nigerian is gunned down every week,’’ he added.
Salihu said that the animosity by Nigerians toward South Africans might become uncontrollable if nothing was done to stop the killings.