Australia Warns Citizens Against Travel to Nigeria

Kehinde Fajobi

The Australian government has issued a strong travel advisory, urging its citizens to reconsider plans to visit Nigeria due to security concerns.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) highlighted terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, and the potential for civil unrest as reasons for the warning.

“Reconsider your need to travel to Nigeria overall due to the volatile security situation and threat of terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, and the risk of civil unrest,” the advisory stated.

It further warned, “There’s a high risk of terrorist attacks across Nigeria by various militant groups. Attacks could be indiscriminate 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 organisations and camps for displaced people.”

The advisory also emphasised that travel to certain regions and states, including Adamawa, Borno, Rivers, and Zamfara, among others, should be avoided entirely.

Recent data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that between May 2023 and April 2024, over 2.2 million abductions were recorded across the country.

Ransom payments during this period totalled approximately ₦2.2 trillion, with an average ransom of ₦2.7 million per incident.

The North-West region reported the highest ransom payments at ₦1.2 trillion, while the South-East had the lowest at ₦85.4 billion.

The Australian government continues to advise its citizens to exercise extreme caution if travelling to Nigeria, citing a need for vigilance in light of the security risks.