The minister of Justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami has warned Nigerians to stop the destruction of some businesses linked to South African ownership, saying they actually belonged to Nigerians.
The Attorney-General dropped this warning on Friday, September 6, when a group known as coalition of Integrity Political Parties, CIPP, visited his office to congratulate him on his reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The minister said those Nigerians destroying Shoprite and MTN offices are destroying properties of Nigerians, unknowingly, because most of the buildings and masts are actually owned or managed by Nigerians, and warned them to stop taking the laws into their hands.
“The attack was carried out by people who thought that Shoprite belonged to South Africans, not knowing that it belongs to Nigerians.
“If you go to Shoprite, you will see that the entire building is run and managed by Nigerians. Most of the MTN tower masts have been given out to Nigerian contractors.
“So, we will be ruining our own economy if we shut down these companies because millions of families will go out of jobs and then it will bounce back on us. “We must always look at this situation very critically; it is important that people should not take laws into their hands.
“The South African government must also look at the situation properly and see if hoodlums have hijacked it, because hoodlums look for any opportunity to commit crime.
“I believe that no responsible government will allow its citizens or foreign nationals living there, to be killed in the streets of the country.”
Recall that some Nigerians took to the streets attacking some business outlets belonging to telecommunication giants – MTN, and Shoprite Shopping Malls across the country in retaliation of the destruction of businesses belonging to Nigerians and other African nationals living in South African.
