The U.S. has issued a travel alert on Nigeria warning
its citizens not to travel to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states
because of the state of emergency in the states.
President Goodluck Jonathan on May 14 declared a state of
emergency in the three states to restore public order, safety and
security due to the spate of terrorist activities in the area.
An updated statement released by the U.S. State Department
dated June 3 said “the ability of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria to
provide assistance to its citizens in those states remains severely
limited’’.
It said the department had continued to recommend that citizens
avoid all but essential travels to some states in the country due
to the risk of kidnappings, robberies and other armed attacks.
The statement listed the states as Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi,
Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano,
Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto and Zamfara.
“The Department also warns against travel to the Gulf of
Guinea because of the threat of piracy.
“Based on safety and security risk assessments, the Embassy
maintains restrictions for travel by U.S. officials to all northern
Nigerian states in addition to those listed above.
“Officials must receive advance clearance by the U.S. Mission
for any travel deemed as mission-essentia,’’ the statement said.
The alert also cautioned U.S. citizens to be aware that
extremists could expand their operations beyond northern
Nigeria to the country’s middle and southern states.
It noted that the latest travel warning replaces the travel
warning for Nigeria dated Dec. 21, 2012.