By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Australian government has warned ed its citizens to avoid Nigeria due to a volatile security environment marked by terrorism, kidnapping, and the potential outbreak of civil unrest.
In a statement released, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advised citizens to reconsider traveling to Nigeria, citing widespread insecurity and alarming crime statistics.
“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 caution comes amid troubling data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, which reported 2,235,954 abductions between May 2023 and April 2024.
Ransom payments during this period totaled an estimated N2.2 trillion, with an average ransom of N2.7 million per incident.
The North-West region accounted for the highest ransom payments at N1.2 trillion, while the South-East reported the lowest at N85.4 billion.
The advisory specifically flagged 21 states, including Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Rivers, Zamfara, and Imo, as high-risk areas for terrorism, violent crime, and civil unrest.
Australians were urged to exercise extreme caution or avoid these regions entirely.
The travel advisory read, “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 travel advisory was issued as thousands of tourists, including celebrities and Nigerians living abroad, flocked to the country for the popular ‘Detty December’ end-of-year celebrations.