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Australia has issued a stark warning to its citizens, advising against travel to Nigeria due to the escalating security risks, including terrorism, kidnapping, and the potential for civil unrest.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released a statement urging citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Nigeria, highlighting the volatile security situation and rising crime rates in the country.
“Reconsider your need to travel to Nigeria due to the volatile security environment, including the threats of terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, and the risk of civil unrest,” the advisory stated.
The warning comes in light of concerning data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, which reported 2,235,954 abductions between May 2023 and April 2024. During this period, ransom payments were estimated at N2.2 trillion, with the average ransom demand amounting to N2.7 million per incident.
The North-West region experienced the highest ransom payments, totaling N1.2 trillion, while the South-East region recorded the lowest at N85.4 billion.
The advisory singled out 21 states, including Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Rivers, Zamfara, and Imo, as particularly high-risk areas for terrorism, violent crime, and civil unrest. Australians were advised to exercise extreme caution or avoid these areas altogether.
“There is a high risk of terrorist attacks across Nigeria by various militant groups. These attacks may be indiscriminate or target foreign interests,” the statement warned. “Potential targets include places where crowds gather, such as hotels, bars, restaurants, political gatherings, government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, sporting events, transport hubs, law enforcement facilities, international organizations, and displaced persons’ camps.”
The warning was issued as thousands of tourists, including international visitors and Nigerians living abroad, flock to the country for the popular ‘Detty December’ celebrations marking the end of the year.