Australian government warns citizens against traveling to Nigeria
The Australian government has issued a strong warning to its citizens to reconsider traveling to Nigeria.
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A statement by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT, cited a high-risk environment marked by terr0rism, kidn@pping, and the potential outbreak of civil unre$t as reasons for the advice.
“There’s a high risk of terr0rist att@cks across Nigeria by various militant groups. Att@cks could be indiscrimin@te or may target foreign interests.
Potential targets include places where crowds gather, such as hotels, bars, restaurants, political meetings, government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, sporting events, transport hubs and networks, law enforcement facilities, international organizations, and camps for displaced people. Reconsider your need to travel to Nigeria overall, including the capital Abuja.
Do not travel to Adamawa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross Rivers, Delta, Federal Capital Territory (excluding Abuja), Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states,” the travel advisory read.
DFAT also advised its citizens against Internet romance, friendship, and employment sc@ms which originated from Nigeria.
The caution comes amid recent data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, which reported 2,235,954 abd*ctions between May 2023 and April 2024.
Ransom payments during this period totaled an estimated N2.2 trillion, with an average ransom of N2.7 million per incident.
The North-West region accounted for the highest ransom payments at N1.2 trillion, while the South-East reported the lowest at N85.4 billion.
