- The US has placed 23 countries under its highest travel warning
- Nigeria remains at Level 3, while some states are under Level 4
- The Nigerian government says the advisory does not reflect the country’s overall security situation
The United States Department of State has updated its global travel advisory, placing 23 countries under its highest warning level, Level 4, and advising American citizens not to travel to those destinations under any circumstances.
In a travel notice shared on Saturday through the department’s TravelGov X account, Eko Hot Blog gathered that the agency explained that a Level 4 advisory is issued when security conditions are considered extremely dangerous or when the US government has limited capacity to provide assistance to its citizens.
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According to the statement, the advisory system ranges from Level 1 to Level 4, with the highest category carrying a clear warning against travel.
“These places are dangerous. Do not go for any reason,” the department stated.
The African countries included in the Level 4 category are Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Other countries listed under the advisory are Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
The latest update follows an earlier advisory in which Nigeria remained under Level 3, urging Americans to reconsider travel because of security concerns.
However, the US also maintained Level 4 warnings for several states in Nigeria, citing threats such as terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, civil unrest and limited healthcare services.
The affected areas include Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and northern Adamawa in the North, as well as Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states, excluding Port Harcourt.
Responding to the advisory, the Federal Government described the US decision as a routine measure based on Washington’s internal security assessment procedures rather than an indication of a nationwide breakdown of law and order.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, maintained that although Nigeria continues to face isolated security challenges in some areas, the country remains stable.
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