The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom has issued a warning advisory to its citizens against travelling to about 21 states in Nigeria over security concerns.
The warnings updated on Monday stemmed from the worsening insecurity occasioned by the terrorist activities of Boko Haram terrorists and Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP) in the North East, armed banditry in the North West and militancy in the South-South, the Commonwealth office said.
The FCO advised against all travel to:
Borno State
Yobe State
Adamawa State
Gombe State
Riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, within 20km of the border with Niger and Zamfara State.
The FCO also advised against all but essential travel to:
Bauchi State
Zamfara State
Kano State
Kaduna State
Jigawa State
Katsina State
Kogi State
within 20km of the border with Niger in Sokoto and Kebbi States, non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers State, Abia State.
FCO said terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Nigeria with most attacks occurring in the northeast, particularly in Borno (including central Maiduguri and along access routes connecting the city to other major towns and along the Niger border, including in Damasak), Yobe, including the eastern LGAs bordering Borno State both north and south of the Damaturu road), and Adamawa States.
It said there have also been significant attacks in Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Bauchi States and in the Federal capital, Abuja. The terrorist threat across eastern Yobe and Borno State are high, with frequent recent attacks. Terrorist groups carried out attacks in North East Nigeria during the February 2019 election period, and further attacks are likely. We continue to advise against all travel to Borno and Yobe States.
It also advised citizens to avoid places where crowds gather, including political meetings, religious gatherings and places of worship, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, transport hubs and camps for displaced people. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests as well as places visited by tourists adding that besides Abuja, other major towns and cities remain particularly at risk, including Kano and Kaduna.
