The Australian government has issued a strong travel advisory, urging its citizens to reconsider plans to visit Nigeria.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) highlighted concerns over Nigeria’s unstable security situation, citing threats of terrorism, kidnapping, and the potential for civil unrest as key factors behind the warning.
The travel advisory read “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.
“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.
“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 warning follows recent statistics from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, revealing 2,235,954 abductions between May 2023 and April 2024.
During this period, ransom payments were estimated at N2.2 trillion, with an average ransom demand of N2.7 million per incident.
The North-West region recorded the highest ransom payments, totaling N1.2 trillion, while the South-East reported the lowest at N85.4 billion.