The United States government has issued a revised travel advisory, urging its citizens to reconsider planned visits to Nigeria due to escalating security threats and limited access to reliable healthcare services.
The advisory, published by the US Mission in Nigeria, flagged serious concerns including terrorism, widespread kidnapping, civil unrest, armed criminal gangs, and violent crime. It forms part of a broader global travel guidance update, which categorises countries into four risk levels—Level Four being “Do Not Travel” and Level Three “Reconsider Travel”.
Nigeria has been placed under Level Three, with the US government cautioning that all regions of the country present significant security risks. While not outright prohibiting travel, the advisory identified 18 Nigerian states with heightened threat levels and advised US nationals to avoid them entirely.
States listed due to terrorism and kidnapping include Borno, Yobe, Kogi, and northern Adamawa. Those flagged for kidnapping threats are Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara. In addition, Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states were flagged for crime, kidnapping, and armed gang activity.
“Reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services. Some areas have an increased risk. Overall, all locations carry significant security risks,” the advisory stated.
It further highlighted that violent crime is widespread, with incidents of armed robbery, carjacking, assault, rape, roadside banditry, and hostage-taking commonly reported. The advisory particularly noted a pattern of kidnappings for ransom, targeting dual nationals and US citizens perceived as wealthy—often intercepted on interstate routes.
The US government has similarly flagged eleven other African countries, including Somalia, Libya, South Sudan, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, under its high-risk travel advisory list.
