Xenophobic Attacks: NANS Threatens Shutdown of MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic IBTC

Xenophobic Attacks: NANS Threatens Shutdown of MTN, MultiChoice, Stanbic IBTC

The President of 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. According to the student leader, the planned action is in response to South Africa’s treatment of Nigeria and Nigerians. He said NANS is prepared to mobilise students across the country to ensure the protest is carried out. “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 protest is aimed at putting pressure on South African-linked companies operating in Nigeria, calling on students and members of the public to support the action.

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. The attacks 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”. NANS has framed the protest as a direct response to what it describes as South Africa’s failure to protect foreign nationals, particularly Nigerians. The student body expressed outrage over what it called a recurring pattern of hostility, with the latest incidents triggering a fresh wave of anger. 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”.

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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 proposed at plenary that the operating licences of firms such as MTN and MultiChoice be revoked, and even suggested 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, who urged restraint pending a comprehensive investigation by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. Jibrin cautioned: “We lead in Africa. We set the pace. Whatever we need to do, we need to be very careful”.

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 approximately 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.

Earlier, NANS had issued a four-day ultimatum to South African business interests operating in Nigeria, demanding their immediate evacuation from the country. The directive, announced in a press statement by Comrade Bestman Okereafor, NANS National Executive Director for Corporate and Private Sector Engagement, followed what the student body described as the continued exploitation of Nigerian soil while South Africa perpetuates systemic oppression against Africans in their own country. “The attention of NANS has been drawn to the continuous attacks, intimidation, and forced expulsion of law-abiding, hardworking Nigerians and other Africans from South Africa,” the statement read. “As the largest student body in Africa, we are giving South African business interests four days to evacuate Nigeria. The reason is straightforward: South Africans cannot oppress our people in their country and expect their businesses to thrive here without consequence”. NANS underscored Nigeria’s historical role in supporting South Africa during the apartheid struggle, arguing that the current treatment of Africans in South Africa betrays the spirit of solidarity that once defined African unity. “It is on record that Nigeria played a pivotal role in the fight against apartheid. We cannot, and will not, tolerate disrespect, disloyalty, and global embarrassment from a nation that once stood with us”.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor the affected companies—MTN Nigeria, MultiChoice Nigeria, and Stanbic IBTC Bank—have issued official statements responding to the latest threat from NANS. Further details on the planned nationwide protest and the exact timeline are expected as the situation develops.