The
United States has issued a travel alert on Nigeria, warning its citizens
against travelling to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, the areas under state of
emergency.
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.
Source: The Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment