The government-funded flight landed on Thursday carrying 262 passengers, including women and children , as part of a wider repatriation effort ordered by President Bola Tinubu.

Upon arrival, returnees were welcomed by officials before completing registration procedures.

Several passengers said life in South Africa had become increasingly difficult amid growing hostility towards foreign nationals.

"The problem in South Africa is with the leaders," said returnee Emeka Obodo. "They have literally made everybody an illegal immigrant in their country. When you seek a document, they will not give it to you, and when you go to process it, they will arrest you."

Others said the effects of discrimination were felt by their families.

"Xenophobia did not really affect me personally, but it affected my child. Teachers discriminated against him and were biased towards him," shared Millie Abu, a mother of three.

For Patience Chime, worsening conditions made the decision to return unavoidable.

"They asked us to leave," she said. "They stopped us from doing our business. They said we must not do business. That was why we decided to come back to Nigeria."

Nigerian authorities say attention is now turning to helping returnees rebuild their lives.

"Some of these children have to go to school. There is a lot of work to be done with state and local governments on how to reintegrate their citizens, but the President has done the biggest thing, which is to pay for their flight to come back home," said Abike Dabiri, CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.

The evacuation comes as anti-immigrant protests continue in parts of South Africa, driven by concerns over unemployment, poverty and pressure on public services.

Nigeria has approved five emergency evacuation flights expected to bring home more than 1,000 citizens from South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned attacks on foreign nationals, saying "there is no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance" in the country.