US expands Nigeria travel warning, lets embassy staff leave Abuja

 The move to allow staff departures signals heightened concern in Washington as kidnappings, banditry and attacks on security forces persist, particularly in northern Nigeria.

The US embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. Non-emergency US government employees and their families have been advised to depart. (Facebook pic)

LAGOS:

 The United States has urged its citizens to reconsider travel to Nigeria and authorised the departure of non‑emergency US government employees and their families from the embassy in Abuja, citing worsening security conditions across Africa’s most populous nation.

US travel advisories often shape how investors, international organisations and airlines assess country risk. The move to allow staff departures signals heightened concern in Washington as kidnappings, banditry and attacks on security forces persist, particularly in northern Nigeria.

In an updated advisory late on Wednesday, the State Department kept Nigeria at Level 3: Reconsider Travel, but added Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba to states Americans were warned not to visit. That brings to 23 out of 36 the number of states under the “Do Not Travel” category.

The US highlighted threats from Islamist insurgents in the northeast, criminal gangs in the northwest and ongoing violence in parts of southern and southeastern Nigeria, including oil‑producing regions.

Last month, Washington warned of a “terrorist threat” against US facilities and affiliated schools in Nigeria.

The US reviews the advisory several times a year and has kept Nigeria at Level 3 or Level 4 for much of the past decade due to persistent insecurity.

The US military has multiple MQ-9 drones operating in Nigeria alongside 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the military, which is fighting Islamist militants across the north. - FMT