UK government warns citizens against travelling to 12 states in Nigeria

Due to insecurity concerns, the United Kingdom has advised its people not to travel to twelve states in Nigeria. This was revealed in a travel warning issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom (FCDO).

Borno, Yobe, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Zamfara, and Adamawa states have all been told to stay away from.

The FCDO further warned Nigerians to avoid all but essential travel to Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, and Kogi, which are all within 20 kilometers of the Niger border in Kebbi and Abia states, respectively.

Part of the advisory read: “Foreign nationals, including humanitarian workers, are likely targets for kidnap.

Humanitarian hubs and humanitarian workers have been targeted during attacks in the North East, including Monguno, Borno State on 13 June 2020.

“The security environment in the North East has deteriorated since 2018 and there is a heightened risk of kidnapping of humanitarian and private sector workers.

“There are also reports that Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) have an active plan to kidnap foreigners.

As well as in North-East Nigeria, extremist groups operate in some northern and middle belt states including Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Niger and Adamawa states.

“If you are working or travelling in these States then you should be aware of the risk of terrorist kidnapping.” The UK government also warned against attacks and killings in South-East regions.

“There have also been a number of attacks and targeted killings in the South-east and South-South regions of Nigeria, including in the states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Anambra, Delta, Edo and Ebonyi.

Some of these attacks have been on isolated roads and in remote locations, but there is a chance that they could occur in metropolitan areas,” the advisory read. The government advised those travelling to those regions to be careful and follow local news and information outlets for further information, including on local curfews.