Australia – Citizens: Don’t Go To Nigeria As Violence, Terrorism May Break Out Soon
By Juliet Vincent
The Australian Government has warned its citizens not to travel to Nigeria as there is high likelihood of terrorism and breakout of civil unrest.
In its December, 2024 crime update, Nigeria’s statistics bureau, said an estimated 2,235,954 abductions occurred between May 2023 and April 2024.
It also said the average amount paid as ransom for kidnapping was N2.7 million per incident, with an estimated total ransom of N2.2 trillion paid within the reference period.
According to it, the North-West reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion, while the South-East was the least with N85.4 billion.
In a travel advisory by the Australian government, its citizens should reconsider the need to travel to Nigeria due to the volatile security situation and threat of terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime and the risk of civil unrest.
It warned Australians against travelling to Adamawa, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross Rivers, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara due to the “volatile security situation.”
The Australian government explained that there is also a high threat of terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime and the risk of civil unrest in those states.
“There’s a high risk of terrorist attacks across Nigeria by various militant groups. Attacks could be indiscriminate or may target foreign interests,” the travel advisory stressed.
It pointed out that 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.
